Blinker The Star - Still In Rome

First of all, if you're even the slightest Blinker The Star fan, you need to completely forget that August Everywhere ever existed. You won't want to forget about it - it's lush harmonies, it's massive instrumentation, and somewhat homage style to proper 70's rock - but you have to. Still In Rome is the next step in Blinker frontman Jordon Zadorozny's evolutionary songwriting process, if August Everywhere had never existed. This album is about big dumb rock riffs, squelching guitar solos, and... dare I say it... the rock-anthem, arena-style chorus. Upon hearing this record I was deeply depressed. One of my few sources of quality songwriting and songcrafting had traded its dense layering for grotesque "yea yeahs!" ("Bathroom Wall"), and over the top finger tapping solos ("Live By The Gun"). I won't even get into the fact that he rhymes 'ego' with 'amigo' ("Amigo") or the usage of vocal reverb ("Bad Luck"). It's unfortunate for Blinker The Star that August Everywhere actually ever was released, because it opened the door for the world to see what potential and direction songwriter Jordon Z actually was capable of. But instead, Still In Rome is a big dumb rock record from a songwriter that could have very well put out an incredibly lush and interesting album. If Still In Rome existed on its own, with no comparison to previous efforts or other songwriting talents, it would appear to be a fairly fun album. At times it's definetly trying too hard (the intro and bridge to "Live By The Gun" is just too much), the lyrics are somewhat juvenile ("You tell me you're a lady / But can I touch it, Baby? / I'm a guy, not the Berlin Wall / swing your hammer and just watch me fall!" - "Bathroom Wall"), but it's easy to imagine having a good time driving around listening to the album in the background, or watching the band take the riffs and shredding to another level in a live environment. Not too surprisingly, the strongest tracks on the album are those that were collaborations with other artists. "Still In Rome", "Get Together", "Go To Go Through It", and "Don't Believe It" all feature ex-Failure drummer Kellii Scott on drums. Fleetwood Mac legend Lindsey Buckingham appears on "What Have I Been Waiting For?", along with ex-Jellyfish drummer Andy Sturmer and Lusk's Paul D'Amour. They must have had the sense to let Jordon know not to put in that dueling guitar battle (as we are aurally witness to in "Bad Luck"). To add insult to injury, the artwork for the disc features a drawing of two infants reaching up to suckle at the teet of a howling wolf (or possibly coyote). I would not typically bring up artwork, as it is only an encasing for the music held within, but if I find myself shaking my head in disappointment by mearly viewing the cover to a disc, it deserves to have a flag raised on it. Overall, you could do alot worse than Still In Rome. However, if you're Jordon Z, you could also do alot better. [www.blinkerthestar.com]