The Chiodos Bros. - The Heartless Control Everything

Six kids from Michigan, collectively known as The Chiodos Bros., bring new life to whatever genre Taking Back Sunday, Fairweather, and Brand New could be lumped into. Their debut, 7-track EP, The Heartless Control Everything, is the first release on Search and Rescue Records, an up-and-coming label out of Ann Arbor, MI. I suppose you could call it "new school pop-punk with harder-edged lyrics and occasional screaming," but such terms are meaningless to most people. The set opens with "Compromise of 1984", which was at first slightly reminiscent of Hey Mercedes – musically at least – but turned out to be nothing of the sort. The singer has quite a unique voice, and I seem to be able to sense some Cedric Bixler (At The Drive-In) in his style. And the kid who is screaming has quite a growl when deems it necessary. The lyrics are sort of dark and gloomy, and don't fit the music in some parts, but hey, they did throw some keyboard in there. Overall, the album is very upbeat and fun. While it's nothing groundbreaking or original, it's definitely worth some time. If you pay attention, there is a quick line on track 4 that screamed "Fred Durst" at me. I can only hope it was a joke by the band. [www.thechiodosbros.com]