I've never heard of Ten to One before, but I was dazzled with their music. Their ska style (which included drums, guitars, trumpets, and a keyboard) held my attention throughout the whole CD. Although there isn't much variation among the instruments, each song has its own distinct melody that helps draw you in to the song.
Each of their songs have a particular message and a lot of them hit home. 'Burn it Away' talks about the desire for God to burn away the outside so there is nothing left to hide. The person speaking in the song has tried it on their own, but has failed and God is the only one who can help. It seems like this happens a lot: we try to do things on our own and when we fail then we turn to God and ask Him to burn away what we have done and help us start a new. Ten to One does a good job portraying this in music.
Many of their songs dealt with the pain and frustration of relationships. 'Through the Dark' talks about how even though people have made mistakes in their lives, the persona in the song can still see the light and still see the right in their life. 'Never Alone,' 'Phone Calls,' and 'Understanding' all deal with relationship gone bad.
Ten to One does a good job with the instrumental part of their songs, but I feel their lyrics could use some help. They need to make their lyrics less general, add more meaning and emphasize God more. If they improved on their lyrics they would be a really good bad--until then they make for good study music.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Eric DaamsSka--energy, average vocals, guitars dragged over from the punk rock scene, and mediocre lyrics. That's the general formula to much of today's ska. Ten To One join this scene, offering little ground-breaking material, but still managing to create an enjoyable debut. They shine when they get around to churning out the hard, grinding guitar punk numbers. Perhaps it's the fact that they've got two…
