Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Coastline - ​Alone

10/27/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Coastline

​Alone
self-released; 2015

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

The chances that an album entitled Alone would be melancholy are pretty high in my opinion. I wasn’t expecting a party album when I listened to Alone by Coastline. The eleven songs on this album are indeed predominantly melancholy but the two members R. A. Scott and T. Bloom do throw in a couple of unexpected deviations. 

There isn’t too much happening on Alone. The songs revolve around an acoustic guitar and both Scott’s and Bloom’s vocals. They get some things right and other things wrong but I would argue that they have more victories. The band sounds best when they really go for the heartfelt, genuine melancholy. On some songs they try to be cute, ironic and slightly funny and it doesn't pan out as well. It actually feels out of place. Imagine if a reverent album like Bridge Over Troubled Water had some comic relief. It would take away from the experience. 

The recording quality is about that of a demo but it helps that there isn't much instrumentation. You can hear the lyrics pretty well on each song. Their voices are sometimes blended better than other times. On that note I will say they sound better in unison than they do individually. 

They start the album strong with “Lesson One: Forgiveness” which bears resemblance to the artist Bon Iver. The song features simple yet effective guitar pickings and some of their best vocal melodies. The lyrics are written well enough that they avoid tropes but cover familiar topics. They sing, “Cocoa, burning a paper cup, trading a kiss for luck, there's froth on your lip. Windows, frosted right through the glass, autumn was bound to pass, I'm losing my grip.”

The next song “Bear” is an example of the dichotomy that is present on the rest of the album. It’s not badly written but feels almost silly compared to the first song. “Trapeze” and “The Bird & The Whale” demonstrates the duo's strengths. “The Bird & The Whale” story is almost exactly the same as the Tom Wait song “Fish and Bird.” In fact both songs mention mirrors, sailors and drying eyes. I think this is a tribute to that song. Other songs like “The Wendy Bird” and the gypsy-inspired “The Lobby Boy” weren’t as well delivered and just seemed out of place. 

Coastline will want to hone in on their strengths, which happens to revolve around melancholy and their vocal harmonies. The one offs they were attempting actually took away from the value of the more inspired tracks. Despite the mishaps when they get it right, they get it right. That’s enough of a reason to give this a spin.
Tweet
1 Comment
Liz Jones
10/31/2015 07:04:05 pm

Loved this.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band
© Divide and Conquer 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact