 BETTER
THAN EZRA
Before the Robots
Artemis Records 2005
www.betterthanezra.com
Sample it here
What’s the 4-1-1?
Formed in New Orleans, Better Than Ezra began their career by playing college
bars and frat houses at Louisiana State University. Their major label debut
Deluxe went platinum while their follow-up Friction Baby went gold. This is
their fifth release.
Genre
Modern rock / college rock / alternative
The Good
“Burned” is defined by driving fuzzy riffs and power chord accents.
The catchy chorus will have you singing along in no time. I’m not that
big a fan of falsetto vocals, but the way that vocalist Kevin Griffin uses them
on “Daylight” has caused me to re-evaluate my stance on the matter.
He’s backed by a keyboard and drum dominant rhythm section. The lyrics
to “Lifetime” are quite clever. While it leans toward the subject
of lost love, it really focuses on how much a three minute song can mean shared
with the right company. Kevin’s vocals and his acoustic guitar backing
are both seductive as he moves in on his prey on “It’s Only Natural”.
The song’s title more that clears up what it’s about.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; you can’t go wrong
with a ‘whoo-hoo’ song. Unfortunately for the characters in “American
Dream”, things have gone very wrong. I think in some way we can all relate
to their issues. “Our Last Night” is a beautiful and emotional
power ballad led by melodic vocals, keyboard tones, and clean guitars. The
twangy guitar licks of “A Southern Thing” help give it a .38 Special/Lynyrd
Skynyrd feel. The vocal delivery is similar to the early 90s pop-rock song “Rock
On” (from the movie Dream a Little Dream). Break out your bell-bottoms
and platform shoes for “Juicy”, because Griffin goes all Bee Gee’s
on us (I guess the Scissor Sisters for you young’uns). It has a great
funk style riff and vocal hook in the chorus.
The Bad
Nothing
The Verdict
I was never really a fan of Better Than Ezra. I always thought they were another ‘what
was in at the time’ band. After listening to Before the Robots, I have
seen the light. They proved to me that they are quite versatile and have a knack
for writing catchy and well-written rock songs.
Did You Know?
Vocalist Kevin Griffin co-wrote the biggest radio single of the year in Australia
(“Scar) with Missy Higgins.
Rating:  out
of 5
--George Dionne
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