Flying High in foggy areas
Posted June 12, 2009
By Nathan,
Par Avion, which is French for ‘By Air’, is a solid name for the rock group who is fixated on flying: High Flight Society. After their previous record label, RKT, crumbled beneath the band, roughly two years after making their self titled debut, High Flight Society returns with a project which bassist John Packer calls the “starting point of something big.”
The wild vocals of frontman Jason Wilkes made the band’s first album more uncontrolled effort; a mistake that Par Avion doesn’t recreate. While some may miss the wild heavily electronic influenced tunes along with bellowing guitar riffs, the EP does offer more restraint which will help the group in the long run.
Of course the solid rock song “Give It Up” still features strong guitar riffs but it feels like HFS puts their energy to better use. The intense rock song “Inhaling A Bullet” showcases where the band wants to move with their music and stands a good chance of distinguishing themselves as cutting edge rockers if they continue with this approach. However, despite some innovative background music the more upbeat pop rock “Run From Yesterday” sounds too generic. Driven solely by an acoustic guitar, “Come On Sister” doesn’t reveal any of High Flight Society’s weakness other than it’s close comparison to Disciple’s song “Savior” in its music and message.
The EP opens with two complicated songs which dwell on the trials of being an outcast (“Give It Up” soberly observes that while the singer needs someone to show him love ‘You know just what it is I need/And look away’) while “Inhaling A Bullet” contemplates the destruction words can have. The lone caution to the EP is that the song includes more than one gun metaphor. The simple messages of both “Run From Yesterday” and “Come On Sister” are both good but each express songwriting which was less complex than High Flight Society’s debut.
The Good news is that High Flight Society’s EP does adjust from their flawed opening project. But most of the changes are closer to the musical spectrum as the lyrical aspect of Par Avion presents future problems. In addition to God’s name never appearing, the lyrics either reflect basic songwriting skills or offer tracks which need careful deciphering. A solid EP which projects good things are ahead for this rock act. But it’s also one that needs to accomplish more in their sophomore album, before they can reach an elite status.
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