The Volunteers – S/T

The Volunteers – S/T / 2005 Self-Released / 12 Tracks / http://www.thevolunteersrock.com / Reviewed 19 May 2005

The rock that The Volunteers play is reminiscent of Detroit in the late sixties, instead of New York City of the 2000s. Sure, there is more than a passing nod to The Dictators, but this is pure Iggy right here. This band has a Fixer like fellow regional band Fixer, in that The Volunteers tread the line of rock and pop-rock more than once. Such is the case with the Papa Roach / Three Days Grace sound of “Lolita”, which uses New Jack Swing-styled vocals to make the disc easier to swallow. The Volunteers really rebound during their Soul Asylum-influenced “Kill Your Parents”. The guitar fuzz and Dan’s vocals on this track team up to provide an early-nineties sound that bridges well to the “Story of Jack and Diane”-era sound of “Homos”.

The intricate bass that comes through during “Tonight, I Sleep Alone” is the perfect impetus to put the disc right back on the rails of rock after the few derivations from that in the previous tracks. The more emotional brand of rock on “Real Man”, a track which has Dan’s vocals surge over a very Spartan guitar riff shows a differing style for The Volunteers and really keeps listeners focused in on their music. The humor present in “Gimme Some Money” looks back to The Ramones and the pop-rock bands that influenced them. The track also has a little of a Pink Floyd style to it that further elaborates on the wide array of influences that fuel on The Volunteers. Each of the tracks on this full-length provide another facet to The Volunteers sound, while the band maintains the ability throughout to craft poppy, radio-friendly songs that range in influences from the Counting Crows to Iggy Pop.

The disc does not have a stand-out track, which really shows that the band has put an equal amount of time into the creation of the disc, instead of putting a hell of a lot of filler in-between a few good tracks. The only thing that can be said about this disc is that the band really needs to take that next step and rise above their influences, and find their true voice. For example, Dan takes a Chris Cornell/Steven Tyler vocal inflection during “Real Turned On Girl”, but eir own voice is really not to be heard. The music may be well-done and the vocals soaring, but for greater success, the band needs to just sit down without their record collections and bash out the first things that come to their heads.

Top Tracks: Lolita, Homos

Rating: 5.3/10