Death Is Not Glamorous – S/T / 2006 State of Mind / 5 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/deathisnotglamorous / http://www.stateofmindrecordings.com / Reviewed 05 September 2006

Ten minutes is all that Death is Not Glamorous gives their listeners to chew on. Is it enough for the band to grab fans, or will individuals be non-plussed by the paucity of music on this self-titled EP? “The Fallback” opens up the track and it feels as if the band has a few moments where they allow chaos to play too large of a role in their overall sound.

The interaction between the guitars and the vocals during this track is like an off again on again relationship, with the band succeeding when they are able to allow both parts to work together. Still, what they are trying to do with this track is without reproach. There is a blend of emo, punk, and metalcore elements. The band has not polished all of the rough edges of incorporation during this track, but if they had, they would have a bona fide hit on their hands. This same lack of polish is present during “Think You Can”, which tries to allow Death Is Not Glamorous to conduct their arrangement in a democratic way and give the bass a focal role. The bass tries to do a Nirvana “Son Of A Gun” meets Rancid thing, and just seems a smidgin too loud.

The rest of the track, however short it may be (70 seconds) is perhaps Death Is Not Glamorous’ strongest effort to date, but at this point of the disc, listeners have only heard two tracks. The more sedate opening to “Close Knit” opens up into a much more approachable track. There are hints of pop-punk, as well as late nineties emo during this track. This slowed-down Death Is Not Glamorous is impressive even if the track is not anything special. It seems as if Death Is Not Glamorous is still trying to feel out their own sound during this EP, and I really think that this is where they should lay their chips down at. The style allows for a more balanced assault of the listeners by the band, and Death Is Not Glamorous is able to go forth and compel listeners to stick with the band. If this was the beginning track on the EP, the band’s fortunes would be much different. I have a feeling that individuals listening in to the first time to the band heard “The Fallback” and might have either given the band one more chance or just turned the disc off there. “Elephants” continues the band’s upward trend and makes me wonder why this path was not tread during the entirety of the disc.

Top Track: Close Knit

Rating: 5.8/10

[JMcQ]