Straight to the Ace
Hold Me Down
Reviewed by Stu Wright
9 August 2007
Straight to the Ace spent April of 2007 in Sydney, recording their new EP ‘Hold Me Down’ with renowned producer Phil McKellar. What they’ve produced is listener friendly Indie Pop which should sit well with the Soft Rock mood currently flavouring the nation.
Opening track ‘Hold Me Down’ is well constructed, featuring some clever changes and a memorable, driven chorus. Clean, crisp guitar dominates proceedings, with a good vocal melody and delivery reminiscent of Morrissey. ‘Want to Know’ kicks in with the recognisable Aussie guitar sound, if you like Custard or You Am I then you might appreciate this. Good thick guitars, changes where they should be and nice harmonies could make this the sleeper hit of this release.
‘I Remember You’ is a nice change of pace, with evident extra production and good use of effects. One of the strengths of Straight to the Ace is their ability to play on and off the beat, tightening their sound as required or loosening to achieve feel. The band writes well, and one can definitely hear the potential for future releases based on this CD
‘Superstars’, the bands pick for a single, is a great pop song showcasing excellent production and wonderfully orchestrated harmonies, capturing a definite eccentricity that gives a group personality. Think Queen mixed with The Cure. Obviously Straight to the Ace have a long way to go before reaching those lofty heights, but at times they are quite clever and this is a very well constructed song with demonstrable pop sensibility.
Closing track ‘Destination’ rounds out the EP nicely, with a nice progressive rock feel, moody guitars and honest lyrics. One thing I do like about Straight to the Ace is that you can always hear it’s them, even when they’re off on different adventures.
The only criticism of ‘Hold Me Down’ would have to be an overall lack of power on the mid-range of this recording, which could have been helped by layering the guitars over several tracks and with more varied sounds – at times you can hear the alternate second guitar where it could be, and lament the possibilities. Possibly some fattening up could be achieved on any tracks which are lifted to a future album…
Overall, ‘Hold Me Down’ by Straight to the Ace is an interesting hybrid of various classic sounds, and as a second release bodes well for the future, provided the bands song writing can continue to mature. Well worth a listen.
