This Providence – S/T / 2006 Fueled By Ramen / 12 Tracks / http://www.thisprovidence.com / http://www.fueledbyramen.com / Reviewed 05 December 2006

The funky dance-emo of This Providence should tie this band to acts like The Rocket Summer, Panic at the Disco, and HelloGoodbye. However, the one thing that distinguishes This Providence form the other acts that further this same type of style if This Providence’s insistence on a harder rock sound than either of the other acts. For a track like “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”, This Providence keeps the track short enough to maintain listener interest in the band.

While there is repetition present in the band’s track, it really allows listeners to focus in on the band rather than be an extension of an act that does not know where to go. “Card House Dreamer” is a track that furthers This Providence’s sound while still having the dance bgeat of prior tracks on the disc. Each of the songs could easily make it to mTV2 or one of hundreds of radio stations. It should be no surprise that This Providence’s star is rising, as the production of this album is solid, and this is bolstered further by the band giving it all throughout the entirety of the disc. The use of multiple vocal layers on a song like “Card House Dreamer” is where the band really makes their bread and butter, as individuals can be taken away on the strong vocal performances of the band here. This is not to say that the instrumentation is slacking in any way, but rather that the vocals achieve an incredible level here. The bass line toward the end of the track puts the song over the bar; This Providence has improved on their already-impressive history. The fact that This Providence can come up with something so tender and quiet during parts of “My Beautiful Rescue” further cements their place in rock history.

The band may only have cut two large-market albums, but I have little doubt in my mind that This Providence will be around for a quite a few years. This Providence may not have quite the bombastic entrances that were present during “Our Worlds Divorce”, but this is a trade off the band has made to allow themselves to achieve a much more polished and professional sound. I think that this was the best decision that This Providence could have made. I would have to say to pick up both this album and “Our World’s Divorce”, as there are things present on each album that individuals need to hear to properly understand the band.

Top Tracks: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, Card House Dreamer

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]