Album Review: Bridge and Tunnel - East / West

A lot of this review is going to sound negative, but that's just because I really LIKE Bridge and Tunnel. They're a great band, and I enjoy them quite a bit; in theory anyway. They're playing music along the lines of what I love and doing a pretty good job at it. They're solid players, and they have their own sound. I'm thankful for any band who isn't recycling bad screamo that people pretend to like to get girls, or making insanely pretentious indie nonsense that people pretend to like to feel smart. They're treading along the lines of great bands of the past like Braid; like great modern bands like Street Smart Cyclist and Algernon Cadwallader. But on their full length debut, East / West, something just isn't right. Something is missing, and I feel like they're capable of so much more than they present here. The songs on this release are all just really hit or miss for the most part, and that's a shame considering their potential.

I first became aware of Bridge and Tunnel when I saw them open for the last On the Might of Princes (one of my favorite bands) reunion show. Immediately, the band impressed me with their confidence, their stage presence, and how tight they were. It's also always good to see girls in a band in equal numbers to the boys, and not just stuck behind a keyboard, but out front rocking out. They were the surprise of the show for me, and I went home and downloaded their demo, which was a solid 4 song release that I still enjoy.

On East / West, the band finds themselves treading along similar grounds. And at first, it works. The start of this cd is really strong, with songs like the opener, Wartime Souvenirs, which has a nice jangly guitar line and displays singer Jeff's voice off nicely. The first five songs are all good, with a slight misstep at Night Owls - the Maps and Atlases style intro doesn't work for me, and it goes immediately into vocals by guitarist Rachel. She's a very talented girl, but I've been seeing her sing since her old band Regarding I played at this shitty little storage garage venue called the Local 7, and I've never been able to get into her voice. Still, this song doesn't ruin anything, and the buildup continues. The first five songs culminate with the song Rubrics, far and away the best song on this album. A very good guitar part is matched with seriously catchy vocals, and comes together exactly how the entirety of the album should have.



And that should've been it. This release should have ended right here, at the climax. All said and done this would've made a wonderful EP...unfortunately, there is more than half of the cd left to go, and it ventures into territory that teeters on the edge of boring and just plain mediocre. Nothing is terrible or insulting to listen to, but it just keeps going and by the time The World Series, the album's cliche and predictably placed instrumental, hits, I was ready to throw my headphones to the ground. I can almost appreciate what they were trying to do here, venturing into slightly dreamier territory, but it doesn't work and just ends up feeling exhausted and stubborn.

Bridge and Tunnel's problem is that they're good at making music that sounds interesting at first, but has very little to hook the listener with. They take a very stream-of-consciousness approach to songwriting, flowing from point A to point B and rarely venturing back. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, but their songs all sound very similar and follow almost identical dynamics blueprints. Without hooks or variation to differentiate them, all the songs mush into one after a while, and the listener is often left wondering if the track has even changed yet. Vocally, I think Jeff's got the tone and the power to make things sound convincing, but his vocal lines suffer from the same meandering as the rest of the music. The girls' voices are fine as a backup, and they add good dynamics with their layering, but any time Rachel comes to the forefront I start frantically flailing my hands at the forward button. In addition to this, the lyrics kind of strike me as talking to a college kid who's trying to be poignant for poignancy's sake; there's some noble sounding ideas but it's all fluffed with a bunch of what just sounds like hot air.



The 2nd half of the cd isn't ENTIRELY boring, as the song "Down for My People Like Joe Carroll" is one of the best songs the band has ever written, but I stand by the fact that this should've replaced Night Owls in the first five songs and been released as an EP. As is, this album is a 5 at best from a band who could easily be putting out an 8. All that said, I still do really like Bridge and Tunnel, and doubt this is the last we'll hear from them. Hopefully next time they focus a bit more in diversifying the dynamics and less time running over the same ground. You can hear the whole thing for yourself thanks to the fine people at Punknews.org. It's at the very least worth a look.

Standout Tracks
Rubrics
Down for My People Like Joe Carroll

Worst tracks
Dear sir
The World Series
Grace for these wayward hearts

5 out of 10