Tyler Read - Demos

Music

October 16, 2006, 09:38 AM

Newly signed to Immortal Records (home to 30 Seconds to Mars, Hot Rod Circuit and Scary Kids Scaring Kids), these are the first demos on the label from Louisiana rock band Tyler Read and they arrive without song titles and on a burned CD-R to boot. Not the best of first impressions – no jewel case, no titles, just a crappy nameless CD and a generic cardboard sleeve with some marker pen scribbled on. Pretty weak, but anyhoo it’s clear a pretty slick machine is emerging here. Their debut album is being produced by Incubus and Stone Temple Pilots collaborator Elvis Baskette, while the emerging sound on display on these demos lies somewhere between the arena-rock, platinum-clad bluster of Nickleback and the melodic, emo-tinged harmonies of My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy. The 90’s heavy rock sound on ‘Track 1’ is initially painfully uncool and outdated yet it’s when the Daryl Palumbo-esque vocals kick in and the track gives way to a (oh so cool) disco-beat, keyboard-laden chorus that Tyler Read’s sound is given that crucial modern edge. Aesthetically things don’t quite add up either. Tyler Read look like young, hair-free pretty boys, not the leather and flannel-wearing rock veterans their sound suggests they might, yet this is probably where their appeal will lie – the traditional Southern/Hard rock elements of their sound, offset by the youthful exuberance of the band members. Indeed, the band is on tour soon with Victory Records signings June so you can see which direction Immortal may be heading here. However, success is certainly not guaranteed on the basis of these demos. At times this is just irony-free hard rock, like a pub back-room version of Reef without the sass and laid-back charm (not to mention tunes) that leant them mass appeal. They’re also not breaking any real new ground here – some of the drop-D riffage is an ugly reminder of nu-metal chuggery and whilst the musicianship is competent enough, the only real highlight remains the pre-chorus to the first track on here. Still some way to go until the band can hold court with the big guns like the Cure, the Stones and the Beatles that they list as their major influences but maybe that big-budget debut will up the ante somewhat.