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Review: Farewell Luna - By the Morning [EP]

Independent | "This solo work has the most potential of anything I've heard in weeks."

by SamByrd, October 2nd, 2012 and has been Read 483 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire October 2nd, 2012.

By the Morning, the debut EP from Morris Plains New Jersey's Farewell Luna, is, to sum it up, a nice attempt. While there's a lot of potential from Jarad Wohl, the production is so off it's hard to hear the moments that could take this EP from "all right" to "awesome."

The main issue with this album is, hands down, the production. At every turn the drums are overwhelming. They're good in each song, but they are ridiculously loud. The vocalist has a great pop style, but you can hardly hear him over the drums. The other instruments are also too strong, but they don't have the same ability to drown out the vocals.

Every song on this album is good but needs work. By the Morning does a nice job of showing off Jarad Wohl's rock-pop vocal sound, but the instruments nearly overwhelm it. "Broken Bones," continues the trend with vocals quieter than they should be; in this case it's unclear whether that's because the drums are too loud or the singer is too quiet.

Luckily for Farewell Luna, the EP's second half is strikingly better than the first. "Chemicals," needs a few touches here and there - the chorus needs more umph, for example -but there's a nice Fall Out Boy-style vocal effect halfway through, and a short while later the guitar takes a nice effect for itself. The second-best song on the album.

By the Morning finishes strong with the dark, painful, and beautifully wonderful "Awake." The drums are, again, much louder than they need to be, the lyrics near-incomprehensible, but it has a bit of an ache to it. Gorgeous little touches here and there take "Awake" from good to incredible. It gets even grittier as it comes to the finish, picking up shades of Explosions in the Sky and AFI. Though the first two songs were a let-down and the third needs a bit of work, "Awake" rounds off this EP so well you want to hear more. This solo work has the most potential of anything I've heard in weeks.

By the Morning is out now and available HERE

Best Tracks:

• Chemicals
• Awake