Review:

on 2008-05-22 lekwon Said:

A Cursive Memory is backed by big names in music; it all started when MTV picked them up sometime last year. Knowing that such labels deem them promising and vigorous, ACM certainly has a lot going for them. As seen in Changes, the quartet possesses a formidable grasp on what sounds are currently making pop bands explode. Now the challenge is how to use that knowledge and utilize it to create an album that would stay in people's stereos for longer than a week.

Save for a few polishes, Changes features songs that fans have previously heard before through their Myspace player or at their cozy shows. Songs such as "Everything" have grown up with the fans, allowing one to feel closer to the album through its familiarity aspect. However, there is always room for more improvement: the songs seem a little slow from one to the next, as if something is repressed. The album is best heard at full blast; it is a very soft and gentle album, which disappoints me because the band sounds so great live when volume is not an issue.

Whatever that missing link is, it certainly is not the energy, which hides subtly behind the whispering ballads and poppy hooks. A Cursive Memory has an immensely youthful sound, as seen through vocalists Colin Baylen and Shaun Profeta, combined with the mixture of synthesizers. However, A Cursive Memory is capable of further maturity. Such wisdom does peek through songs such as "Bank" and "A Different Kind of Love." If the band were to combine their propensity for bubbly personalities with their subtle sophistication, the boys are likely to make a solid album with more diversity.
Rating: 7/10