In Passing

Item: Look Alive
Author: Justin Brinker

Look Alive

(2004)

Reviewed by Justin Brinker

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Label Indianola RecordsDecapolisAugust 2004

emo indie rock pop punk pop rock

I was doing some research on In Passing and came across a certain website that said, "move over Get Up Kids In Passing is here" and felt the need to cringe, because blatant comparisons to other bands can usually mean a death sentence for the band before they even get started. In case you are wondering, yes, In Passing does sound eerily similar to The Get Up Kids, almost too similar on some tracks, but the comparisons to other bands does not stop here.

It seems like In Passing did not only borrow from The Get Up Kids when concocting their sound, but also opted for the sound of the entire Vagrant Roster of that era that so many bands have taken cues from. Vocalist Wes Sumner sounds like a cross between Matt Pryor, at times the singing vocals of Geoff Rickly of Thursday, and Chris Conley of Saves The Day, couple that with the instruments and the songwriting and the comparisons are a dime a dozen. However, it would not be fair to label In Passing as another indie rock cover band, because while they do wear their collective influences on their sleeves they have the potential to take their sound and build on it if they put out another record.

Look Alive is mainly comprised of mid-tempo rock songs driven by electric guitar, bass, and drums, the music relies heavily on dynamics as well as strong vocals. In tracks like "Southwest" Sumner sings, "you pray for the confidence to hold beneath the weight of words too bold". On "The Heart Is A Parasite" he softly sings "there's been an escape a heart has left its body a note was found not far from the corpse outlined in chalk to whom it may concern." "Making Eyes" slows the album down driven by the acoustic guitar and vocals, before picking back up where it left off with "Your Mountain Is Waiting." The lyrical theme is based on relationships both broken and healed, and the ultimate theme is hope. It is not very often that a band can borrow from its predecessor and be able to make an album that is still interesting; fortunately for In Passing they are able to pull it off.

2/4