There is a fine line between the brilliant and the bizarre. Sometimes an album comes along that critics and fans alike laud for its clever artistry and experimental, inspired flourishes of musical madness. The Beatles are considered by most to be one of the all-time greats of rock 'n' roll, largely due to the fact that the Beatles were never afraid to use strange sound effects in a song, or play their guitars backwards, or write a song about "eggmen" and walruses.
Of course, in addition to their creative tinkerings and psychedelic strangeness, the Beatles also had powerful melodies and sing-along choruses to back them up. Their sense of adventure never overpowered their sense of fun. I'm not so sure, though, about Tooth and Nail Records' emo band twothirtyeight. I admire their boldness when it comes to bucking trends, but I can't help but wonder just how many people will actually like these guys.
Twothirtyeight's debut LP on Tooth and Nail is Regulate the Chemicals, a very non-commercial, artistic foray into the world of emo/punk/garage rock. Fans of The Juliana Theory's first album will probably love this one. Regulate the Chemicals has the same moody vocal style and garage band guitar licks and production values. Unfortunately, twothirtyeight isn't quite as catchy, and they're not nearly as diverse, as The Juliana Theory.
Instrumentally, this record is fairly simple. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as emo is not expected to be very intricate, but be warned that you won't find the musical complexities of Dave Matthews Band or Radiohead here. One of the biggest problems with the album is the pacing--most of the songs tend to plod along at a slow-mid tempo pace. For a good idea of what this band sounds like, imagine a cross between Jimmy Eat World and Coldplay. Or better yet, just think of Pedro the Lion.
As a reviewer, part of me wants to give Regulate the Chemicals a high score, but another part of me wants to totally bash it. On the one hand, I really do admire the way that twothirtyeight crafted an emotional collection of songs that tend to go against the grain of current musical trends (though they do take advantage of the recent popularity of such emo bands as Jimmy Eat World and Pedro the Lion). This album is clearly the kind of music that twothirtyeight really wanted to make--they obviously didn't make such a moody piece of music because the chances of Regulate the Chemicals being a big money-maker are pretty slim.
That brings me to my next point. As a reviewer, part of my job is to help my readers make informed decisions about notable new CDs. Since the price of one new album is usually somewhere around the $17 mark, most people want to have a fairly good idea of whether or not they are going to like a CD before they buy it. And, in all honesty, I don't see many people liking twothirtyeight very much. This record is gloomy, slow-paced, and the lyrics are relatively weird (any album with a song about anti-depressants is just plain peculiar in my book). I admire twothirtyeight for putting their artistry ahead of their sales, and so I proudly recommend Regulate the Chemicals to lovers of moody emo/punk bands like Pedro the Lion and The Juliana Theory. To the rest of you, however, I strongly suggest listening to this one before you buy.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2002Reviewed by Marco PovervestTwothirtyeight is so far an unknown band to me. Regulate The Chemicals is their upcoming album on Tooth & Nail Records. It features emo rock music. It's a raw, yet sober music. You can hear two guitars in collision with each other while you hear clean vocals on top of it. The guitars vary from gentle strumming to heavy outbursts. There's a lot of melody. The vocals are sometimes joined by other…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Trae CadenheadTwoThirtyEight has succeeded the last few years in creating a niche for themselves in the underground indie rock market. Their release Regulate the Chemicals on Takehold Records in 2000 defined the band and brought them to a new level. It wasn't long before Tooth & Nail Records noticed and had the band sign a contract. Now in 2002, TwoThirtyEight has re-released Regulate the Chemicals, with two…Decapolis 2001Reviewed by JamesThe new album was produced by James Wisner. This is the band's 2nd release on Take Hold Records. Let me get right to the point, these guys have put together a great album. While a lot of people may not take the time to catch the gist of these songs, but the ones that do are going to find that Two Thirty Eight's album is well worth the money. Although it is a genre-oriented product, this disk…Similar sounding releases
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