Bottom Line

Item: Eloquence
Author: Mark Fisher

Eloquence

(2005)

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

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Label Nice GuyDecapolisMay 2005

emo pop punk

Bottom Line is a group of young rock and rollers from Cincinnati, OH. I know what you're thinking, "So what?" Let me just tell you "what" then! These guys have performed alongside such bands as Something Corporate, Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, and Brand New, they also played the VANS Warped Tour as well as completed a tour of Japan in support of their first album. Have I mentioned yet that they did all of that before they graduated from high school?

Eloquence is the bands sophomore effort and it is filled to the brim with memorable pop punk style chorus and melodies. On first listen, that's all it seems to be as a matter of fact. I don't know if I just happened to be listening more intently this particular time or what but around listen number four this album really hit me. This isn't an album I would have said would "grow" on the listener but it really does.

The intensely emotional "Somewhere in Between" is particularly striking. "Everything you feel, I've seen / And everywhere you go, I've been / There is a reason to this night / This is the season for a fight..." the band melodically wails. You just can't help but believe them. The album's opening track, "Nothing is Real (As If It Ever Was)" is a slickly produced pop romp that sure is catchy. I admit that "pop punk" doesn't impress me a whole lot these days but I caught myself singing along to this one. "Saddle Oxford" is the most unexpected moment. It's only an interlude but its big band style wisely breaks any monotony that may be building. It also leads into one of the album's rockier tracks, "False Alarm", and we likes the rock (okay it MOSTLY rocks).

This is a band that I honestly wouldn't have thought I'd like but I am finding myself liking them more every day. They have become a staple in my CD player lately because the melodies are so infectious. Eloquence is an album that doesn't take itself too seriously and delivers plenty of heartfelt conviction in one tight, melodic, slickly produced package. This is a great album for any rock fan, give it a chance.

2.5/4