Larusso – Life In Static

By Andrew Bansal

Salt Lake City, Utah’s alt rock band Larusso have been around for a few years and have maintained the DIY work ethic throughout, releasing EPs and full-lengths on their own, and playing live shows on a regular basis, both locally and nationally. They have completed work on their new album ‘Life In Static’ and it’s slated to be self-released on August 15th 2014.

The thing that strikes the listener most upon listening to this album from start to finish is the pristine guitar tone, which will enable this set of tunes to find a fan base amongst genuine admirers of rock guitar. The music overall definitely has a pop punk vibe to it, which has its own segregated following and isn’t for everyone, but Larusso executes the idea well, and whenever a band pursues to do something that’s already been done before, the most (and perhaps the only) important part of the process is to do it right. Larusso certainly do, with poppy vocals, good guitar work and a solid rhythm section.

‘Dear Pandora’, which comes in towards the end of the album, is my favorite track. Production-wise, the album excels in every aspect as well, and it’s almost impossible to believe that it’s a DIY effort because the production quality rivals that of any full-on pro band. But the album’s biggest shortcoming is the sameness in the tunes. There’s not nearly enough variety in the music from one track to the next, which might be suitable and comfortable for hardcore fans of the genre but not for most listeners.

Overall, Larusso’s ‘Life In Static’ is a good representation of the alt rock-pop punk blend, and sounds like a set of tunes that would be enjoyable in the live setting as well. If you’re into the genre, you’ll find this Larusso album listenable.

Rating: 7/10

Release Date: August 15th 2014

Track Listing:
01. Chase the Sun
02. The Voice
03. The Drifter
04. Daniel with an L
06. Living Proof
07. The Recovery
08. Places
09. Set Phasers to Fun
10. Collision Course
11. Take Me Away
12. Dear Pandora
13. Chemical

Links:
LarussoRock.com
facebook.com/LarussoMusicUT
twitter.com/LarussoUT
instagram.com/TheLarussoBand

Comments

comments