The Chinchees | The Chinchees
In a world of countless alt-rock bands, many struggle to find their own space and create a unique sound. The Chinchees make their first attempt, a somewhat successful one, in their first self-titled album, The Chinchees. The Chinchees represents a flawed, but potent attempt, one that might not achieve all its goals, but still spurs on interest for the band’s future.
The biggest problem that arises with The Chinchees is their lack of originality. Between their distorted guitars and vocals, and upbeat rocking, the tracks tend to sound like those of many other alt-rock bands. The Chinchees need to provide more unique twists to their sound to stand out. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the openings of the tracks “Spoons” and “Gosling Day”. The issue here being that the songs’ beginnings are almost identical. This is amplified by the fact that the two songs are back to back.
One of the more intriguing moments in the album is the song “Melting Foam,” a track which adds an intense speed to achieve an edge that is missing from many of the other tracks. Otherwise the song follows the same traditions as those around it, but pace is enough to give it its own personality.
The track, “Your Life Is a Waiting Room” also provides some much needed originality, featuring more tangible vocals and a beat that stands out from the rest of the album. Instead of achieving uniqueness through speed, the track instead changes up the vocals and uses a very different rhythm for the instrumentals.
Despite its errors, The Chinchees is not a bad album nor poorly made in any way. It simply needs more to attract an audience. In tracks like “Melting Foam” and “Your Life Is a Waiting Room,” The Chinchees show they have the ability to create unique tracks. Now their fans have to wait to see if they can construct a full album around these original ideas. However, when it comes to the distorted guitars and vocals common of the genre, The Chinchees have mastered their techniques and perform them well. Having achieved a stable beginning as a reliable, but somewhat standard alt-rock, it is up to The Chinchees to move on to bigger and better things.
