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While I never actually listened to A Static Lullaby's 2005 release, Faso Latido, I know it was different; a marked progression of some sort for the band. Forget about that album, though. Forget about A Static Lullaby two years ago. The band has since replaced three of its five members and completely reverted to the sound and production that built their full-length debut, the Ferret-released ...And Don't Forget to Breathe.
Make no mistake; this is a modern-day "screamo" record. Every characteristic of the genre, from the singing and screaming dynamic to the mostly rocking, but sometimes pensive delivery, is in place and executed just as one would expect. Fortunately, A Static Lullaby livens up a generic brand of music with confidence and energy. There's a formidable amount of texture to the tactfully layered guitar parts and the prominent rhythm section, and the catchy parts really are infectious. The second song, "Contagious," in particular, has wedged itself in my brain on numerous occasions.
Guitarist Dan Arnold and front man Joe Brown share A Static Lullaby's vocal duties. Arnold has a polished, clean singing style that meshes well with the band's booming choruses and restrained moments. But, as one might expect, Brown consistently unleashes frenzied, raspy screams, proving to be completely disposable and frustrating in the process. Rather than add anything effective, he's often there to perform the useless job of screaming what Arnold's already singing. Brown is an original member and probably one of the primary reasons A Static Lullaby is still together. But he’d be better off running the band’s light show.
To Brown's credit, there are some intense passages that at least set the tone for screaming. “Static Slumber Party" has a surprisingly fast and fitting first half (do I sense Jarrod Alexander’s influence here?), while the fiery riffs and driving drumming in "Annexation of Puerto Rico" form an appropriate backdrop for shouts and screams.
As downright annoying as contemporary screamo can be, A Static Lullaby at least injects energy and lots of big hooks into the style. For those reasons, I do admittedly find myself reaching for this self-titled record from time to time. I'll just completely forget about it in two months.
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