The Bright And Hollow Sky - Gem State

What can I say about Bright And Hollow Sky that hasn't already been done? Not a lot. I was eager to listen in on the premier CD of this fresh band out of Austin, but when I listened in, I just couldn't get excited. The songs are not terribly memorable, and the vocal stylings are humblingly sub-par. I listened again, hoping that it just took me some time to get into it. Unfortunately, nothing doing. It takes a lot of effort to put together a band, and then even more effort to get oneself signed and release a CD. Regretfully, something was lost along the way. These songs come off as stilted and generic. Nothing has been done here that wasn't done by someone else before. Songs like "Porcelain" and "Going Down" come off as childish and simple mope songs with little to offer. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing of all is that Bright and Hollow Sky's debut is not terrible. It isn't some poppy, money-making scheme that gets slapped onto MTV to sell Coca-Cola. The worst thing is that this is a mediocre album. There is potential here, but the album we have in our hands might frighten us out of seeing what happens down the line. There is no challenge- there is nothing new here. And in a world filled to the brim with generic music, mediocre is worse than bad. [popfaction.com]