Rogue Set
The Elm City Shuffle (2007)
Brian Shultz
Rogue Set are definitely a competent band, but maybe they're a little too confident in said competence. While they play some rather inspired, sincere and minimally setup punk rock in the vein of early Against Me!, they definitely seem a little overambitious, with The Elm City Shuffle clocking in at 8 tracks and 41 minutes, and not enough interesting ideas to prevent 5-minute punk songs from ultimately becoming a little boring halfway through or so.
None of the songs ever really craft a crescendo of sorts, or offer some sort of anticipated peak. "I Hate Bands with Mission Statements, Unless It's Latterman"'s best shot at a climax is a slight uptick in the "chaos" of the guitars and percussion, playing ever-so-slightly faster and harder. Simply put, it's not worth the wait or repeated parts of the song. An electric geet loops a continuous, never-ending riff that seems to make up a hefty portion of "Salt Your Neighbor's Lawn"; it's likely to lose your attention until everything comes back in for an abbreviated pickup.
This is a definite problem with The Elm City Shuffle. I like the band's influences; I like their style; but their songs are too fucking long to be so stripped down. The Elm City Shuffle would probably make a pretty solid EP, but as is it's simply stretched beyond its limits.