"The Great American Midrange" by THE ELMS

[dgp11776]

Just finished listening to both albums.  A few observations:

1.  I like the "mono touches" if I can call them that, where in at least some of the songs, the guitars seem to be recorded in mono.  I don't have the album credits in front of me to confirm that, though.

2.  It's true - both albums are completely different.  Which one is better?  At first pass, the acoustic album wins for me.

3.  I'm guessing the AC/DC comparisons end with this one - not as much muscle as "The Chess Hotel."  It also seems like the low-end EQ was scaled back a little. 

4.  Was I expecting more from the lyrics?  I don't know - it reminds me of early to mid 80's music from Tom Petty, John Cougar, and Bruce Springsteen.  Some are pretty awkward, though - did I really hear "I sing sad songs/I get high some" in "If Got Appears First?"  Again, the lyric file isn't in front of me, so I can't confirm that. 

5.  All-in-all, though a solidly entertaining listen.  A nice, frolicking rock album for one piece, and a slice of Americana for the second piece.   

[Aaron]

I'm envious of everyone who has heard this already.

[ajyouthguy]

i listened to the full album Tuesday on a website...AOL music or something...that had it as one of their 'featured streaming albums' or whatever.  it was ok, but i wanted to like it a lot more than i did (that seems to be a common theme in 2009 music).  for now, i'm not gonna buy it, too much other stuff recently bought/buying in the near future.