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It's catchy, inviting and your parents will appreciate the soothing melodies. It's Anadivine's debut full-length, "Zoo," and it's painfully average.
I've noticed the name Anadivine being tossed around in the melodic rock crowd for somewhere around a year now. Having read about nothing more interesting than a guest vocals from Coheed And Cambria's Claudio Sanchez on a previous release, I struggled in mustering the inclination to listen to Anadivine. While "Zoo" isn't terrible, the healthy supply of energetic hooks and clean musicianship isn't enough to shake the opposing feelings of boredom and predictability.
The biggest flaw of "Zoo" is the lack of edge. Anadivine surely doesn't need to add screamed backup vocals to their music; they don't even need to down tune their guitars and add metallic riffs. The music simply lacks much for experimental qualities and, while they are good at crafting catchy, peppy melodies, it still falls flat. Anadivine ends up sounding a lot like Armor For Sleep but without that endearing, melancholic quality, or a more consistently-upbeat Brandston. In either case, Anadivine's music doesn't have the personal feeling that draws listeners of all sorts.
The first two tracks set "Zoo" in motion with ease, both of them making good use of shifts in tempo and some varied guitar work. "Dangerous Mixed With" has some slick layering of guitar parts and the harmonized tremolo picking at the end is nice. "Alcohol And Oxygen" brings to life the Armor For Sleep similarities, especially during the catchy, driving choruses. The album hits a slow snag in its middle portion and then, seemingly out of nowhere, Anadivine throws a curveball with "This Accident Worked Too Well," which alternates between fast, slightly-metallic and chaotic parts and soft, low-key rock. Here, although the song is too jumbled, the band at least sounds like they're trying something new and the guitars get a chance to shine.
There are some good songs on "Zoo" but, like I already mentioned, there's not much edge or experimentation to keep me interested. And while the band writes some decent melodic rock songs, they lack the raw feeling and texture that allow bands like Moments In Grace to shine. "Zoo" falls short of goodness, but fans of Armor For Sleep could eat this up.
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