Music is a labor of love and some bands and artists will do whatever it takes to get material recorded and available. For those with label backing and full-time band members or even part-time band members, the recording process is a bit easier than for those who are pretty much on their own. Navaeh’s second album is one such labor of love and frustration and pain that shows how a “never say die” attitude can result in reaching a goal, in this case, a good collection rock songs filled with sounds of grunge meets Foo Fighters, with hints of Bleach-era Nirvana, Mudhoney and Stone Temple Pilots thrown in for good measure.
Back in 2011, Navaeh released An Ode to Bad Decisions, and the band for that 5 song album consisted of Andrew Godfrey, Ernest Morris and Jeremiah Scott. The band already had the material down and the whole recording process took three days. For a project completely done on their own, the result was very good album and established the Navaeh sound of grunge-influenced straight ahead rock and roll. For And Then…There Was One , things were a bit more of a challenge as often happens with indie bands. Members have to get on with life and do something to pay bills and that typically involves moves and distance between band members. While some larger bands like Project 86 have greater resources to pull off recording albums under these circumstances, most bands simply don’t have those resources available and have to figure out different ways of doing things. In this case, Andrew Godfrey recorded the album on his own in Nashville, TN, using some material Ernest had partially written as a base. In the end, the album took over a year to complete. This time around, Navaeh was able to get the songs produced and mixed by J. Hall and mastered by Brad Blackwood at Euphonic (who has also done All That Remains, The Almost, Korn, Nonpoint, POD, Three Days Grace), which is pretty impressive for a small indie band and has resulted in a great overall sound.
And Then…There Was One starts off kind of mellow with some quiet vocals sung over a mournful piano in “Let Go”. The overall atmosphere and feel to this song is somewhat dreamy and gloomy in sound and tone which fit well with the lyrics …”Better off with my head in the clouds, standing with my feet on the ground…” Drums join in after the first verse and the song soars toward the end only to finish quietly again with “I won’t give up til you let go”…
At this point I was questioning starting the album off with a slow, quiet song like this but then the guitar feedback starts and some driving drums and bass join in and “Unsatisfied” roars to life. “Unsatisfied” is the first single released and serves as a great introduction to the Navaeh sound. A simple but catchy main riff drives this song and at times sounds familiar but is still different and fresh sounding. Vocals range from some softer, spoken verse sections to a more soaring, full feel in the chorus sections.
The album slows a bit in terms of tempo for the next song “Climb” and then roars back to full speed again for “Face The Lies”. In “Face the Lies” some of the Foo Fighter influence comes through in terms of song style and structure, especially the verse:chorus transitions and the driving drums to carry things along. Throughout the album I found myself picking up bits and pieces from many different grunge-era bands but it was just that, bits and pieces so the overall sound doesn’t sound outdated or copycat. For instance, “Doesn’t Matter” ends the album and the opening guitar has the sound and feel to it like it was straight off Bleach by Nirvana but then the drums and the rest of the band join in and that similarity ends. These sometimes not so subtle nuances provide a little glimpse of the past, almost like a tip of the hat to those who were important musically and influenced the sound of Navaeh. For lack of a better description at the moment, I liken the music of Navaeh to comfort food. It’s not overly complicated, not striving to break new ground, but it has all the elements of good guitar-driven rock and roll that listeners can relate to and will recognize and you can’t help but find yourself tapping on the steering wheel or desk while listening.
The single “Unsatisfied” is available now and the album And Then…There Was One will be released on November 9th on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play, and Bandcamp.
Rating: 7.5/10
Tracklist:
1) Let Go
2) Unsatisfied
3) Climb
4) Face the Lies
5) Doesn’t Matter
Band Members:
Andrew Godfrey – bass and vocals
Brandon Keyser – guitar
Ernest Morris – guitar and vocals
Jim Chiodo – drums
Record Label: Independent, Nov. 2013
Weblinks: Facebook / Bandcamp / PureVolume
“Unsatisfied” single on iTunes / Amazon.com
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Album Stream: “And Then…There Was One”
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