Neighborhood Villain - Look Within EP

Neighborhood Villain - Look Within EP
Garage Sale Records
September 2008
By: Bill Molloy

It took me a decent amount of time to get around to giving this a good listen. My overall summation is that it's good for what it is but not something I'd really listen to all the time.

Negatives - Most of the seven songs fall into the more mid-tempo range, which is all fine and dandy, but can become a bit monotonous after awhile. The lyrics can be kind of cheesey and the vocal inflections of Gjared (according to the myspace page? I don't have the CD in front of me to reference) are a little bit on the whiney side.

Positives - The recording quality, done by none other than Stephen Eggerton of Descendents/ALL fame, is crystal clear. Like, I'd recommend bands try out Stephen instead of the more famous Bill Stevenson/Blasting Room contingent. A couple of riffs throughout the record are definitely influenced by Eggerton's work with the aforementioned bands and will get stuck in your head. I know I mentioned above that some of the lyrics are a bit cliche and whiney, but they're definitely sincere and direct. The melodies and choruses will get stuck in your head after a listen or two.

Overall, I'd give this EP a five of ten. It's not great, it's not terrible, but it is serviceable. RIYL - Descendents/All, Dag Nasty, Bollweevils, etc
Neighborhood Villain Myspace