Down to Earth Approach – Another Intervention / 2004 Vagrant / 11 Tracks / http://www.downtoearthapproach.com / http://www.vagrant.com / Reviewed 30 September 2004
Mixing The Reunion Show with Motion City Soundtrack, Vagrant’s Down To Earth Approach start out their “Another Intervention” with very lush vocals laid down by Jonathan. Continuing a strong outing with “Triple Black”, the jangly guitar lines mix well with the stretched-out vocal delivery of Jonathan. While John’s bass hasn’t made much of an entrance in the earliest strains of the disc, the tripartite vocals of “Another Intervention” come on in the most fitting places, providing more of an emphasis to the important parts of the disc instead of just trying to force a false sense of fraternity. The title track to “Another Intervention” uses the same furious guitars but there is a feeling of reluctance by Jonathan’s guitar on the track. Instead of basking in the incredible energy that they could collect during the track, the restrained nature of the track holds it back from achieving true brilliance.
Speeding through “We’re Sleeping” more so than any of the previous tracks, John provides eir first audible bass lines during the track. This has the added effect of making the band sound as a whole less tinny than in previous tracks, and the aforementioned bass lines provide a backdrop to the screeching guitars. Each of the tracks have a coherent sound, but has none of the obvious radio-friendly hooks a Movielife, Yellowcard, or Coheed have. Down to Earth Approach likes covering nearly the same ground with each track on “Another Intervention”, and while something like the call and response on “Honey and Vinegar” may provide some euphonic delight, the band seems to be falling into a rut by the later tracks on the disc.
Trying to incorporate some Cure-like guitar lines for their “Books on Tape”, the track is another one in which the band falls back into their old ways fairly quickly. “Permanently” benefits from a faster tempo than most of the fare on “Another Intervention” but suffers under some clichéd guitar lines, stolen seemingly from Brand New’s playbook. Down to Earth Approach is considerably better than most of the bands that proudly wear their emo patches, but they still have miles to go before they sleep. Specifically, the bands needs to find some new sources of inspiration, as the entire disc suffers from sounding remarkably similar as one moves from track to track. The songs may be well written, but why would an individual want to listen to the same composition reiterated 10 more times on a disc?
Top Tracks: Face First, Exhibit of the Year
Rating: 5.7/10