Charting through the stars with Eleventyseven is a fun voyage
Posted January 02, 2009
By Nathan,
The first glimpse of Eleventyseven was ...And The Land Of Fake Believe their debut album which for the most part written off as a energetic band putting out generic punk songs with juvenile lyrics. However with the entrance of their second project, Galactic Conquest, Eleventyseven is out to prove that they are not your average run of the mill band with common tunes and high school musical style lyrics.
The title of Galactic Conquest is pretty bold for only a sophomore project but the space suits and counter balance some of the seriousness. Although “ignition sequence” is only eleven seconds long it does prepare the listener for the brief voyage that basically begins with the highly synthesized, catchy, punk/rock “love in you arms”. While the quality of the sound is impressive the second track, “happiness” isn’t quite as crisp with a rough techno pop/punk tune that only runs smooth in the final lines of the chorus. While it’s rare that the songs on Galactic Conquest are not fun there are upbeat tunes which are ear-friendly that are not necessarily cutting edge such as “happiness”. “How it feels(to be with you)” is fun to listen to though the up tempo pop music is only average, and “feel okay” is simply a fun tune with a good electric guitar.
The opening trumpet of “fight to say your life” is pretty lame but the song quickly accelerates fast paced catchy intro punk/rock with an infectious chorus. The synth sound is fully amplified in “galaxies collide” where the techno sounds absorb most of the innovative song. Although “12 step programs” has some distinguishing songs the diversity, compared with the rest of the album, is low, but “retail value” and “Conan” are solid songs. The guitar driven ballad “it’s beautiful” may be simple but it does provide needed diversity and Matt Langston’s vocals are pretty good. A flaw in the CD as a whole is that it’s short (not even 35 minutes long) and what occasionally fills in space is sonically led music which is exaggerated on “love in your arms”, “retail value”, and the final synthesized instrumental finale, “Program Terminated”.
What’s nice about EleventySeven is that some of the lyrics are actually quite thoughtful which is a strength in Galactic Conquest rather than a weakness. Both “12 step programs” and “fight to save your life” send messages about Gods truth lasting far better than the deceitfulness of the world. “Feel okay” offers a rare solution to a problem the band says is overrated (‘My first impression is I don't think that depression is/The tyrant that we make it out to be/Your life is yours to live for something way more positive/Than what you woke up feeling like today’) and the singer in “love in your arms” wants Gods rather than a bunch of rules and religion. Fortunately “how it feels(to be with you)” and “galaxies collide” focus around God. Unfortunately neither are very deep.
Of course Eleventyseven does get a laugh or two along the way (particularly in “Conan”) but the focus doesn’t linger on girl guy clichés or cheesy part tracks. The music overall hits a few pit falls and the over arching sense of teen pop/punk feel will probably scare some away. But Galactic Conquest is certainly a very good sophomore project which will have more fans ready to beam up on the next voyage.
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