Stoley PT - Winter-Summer-Winter-Summer Review
Posted by Vanessa Willoughby on 06.01.2009
Emerging from New York City, StoleyPT aims to create infectious, guitar-driven pop that's much more 90's alternative rock than the passing favorites of today's hipster crowd.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Yours To Keep
2. New Born King
3. Ladies' Choice
4. Switchblade
5. The Lion
6. Broke
7. Kate
8. Learning Curve
9. I'm A Rebel
Emerging from New York City, StoleyPT aims to create infectious, guitar-driven pop that is radio-friendly without coming across as lifeless or bland. Led by Doug Stoley, a musician and actor originally from Chicago, Stoley is no stranger to the music business, as his previous musical credits include songs on Liz Phair’s whitechocolatespaceegg. The trio is completed by drummer Rob Draghi and bassist Laiyo Nakahashi. Their latest album, winter-summer-winter-summer, sounds surprisingly organic, in the sense that the album hasn’t been re-tweaked and edited into something that’s artificially polished. Thankfully, the roughness of the sound doesn’t translate into a sloppy or careless album. Echoing of the style of 90’s bands such as Supergrass and The Lightning Seeds, StoleyPT creates melodies that would provide the perfect soundtrack for the lazy days of summer or an unpredictable night in the city.
The opening track on winter-summer-winter-summer is a good reflection of the entire premise of both the band and the album. “Yours To Keep” begins with whimsical piano chords, as Stoley’s gravelly voice takes center stage. Clocking in at less than 2 minutes and four seconds, the quirky opener doesn’t necessarily emphasize the band’s guitar style or the subtle harmonies provided by Draghi and Nakahashi. However, it does create a distinctive atmosphere, one that is noticeably unlike the majority of today’s pop/rock and underground alternative bands.
The second track, “New Born King,” is a more adequate snapshot of StoleyPT’s sound and style, placing heavy emphasis on the frenzied collision of a steady percussion section and the driving force of guitar and bass. Once again, Stoley’s voice dominates, while Draghi and Nakahashi provide strong backup vocals. Despite Stoley’s modern reflection of the common hybrid of indie rock and power pop, the song feels relatively timeless, echoing the style of radio-friendly alternative bands from the 90’s. Unlike some of today’s emerging bands that are clearly directed towards this generation’s “hipster” crowd, “New Born King” could reasonably appeal to this listener demographic without shutting out the rest of their potential audience.
“Ladies’ Choice” is another song cut from the same cloth as “New Born King.” It shares a few of the same elements: distorted, crunchy guitars, Stoley leading the vocals while Draghi and Nakahashi provide a foundation, and sweeping energy. Unlike “New Born King,” the song starts off with a crackling guitar riff. Additionally, the song is divided by the deliberate breaks and pauses between the verses, like the sudden chapter breaks in a novel.
“Switchblade” is a track that might allude to the vocal patterns of Gordon Gano, the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter from the Violent Femmes. Stoley’s voice isn’t exactly the most en pointe, in terms of the strictest and rigid standards of vocal aesthetics, but it fits quite well with the actual sound and musical intent of the band. The track itself seems to partly discuss the unusual and often dependent nature of the relationship between a band and its fans.
The fifth track, “The Lion,” has the trio delivering a harmonious opening chord that has the slightest flavor of band members that have listened to and appreciate the unity of a 60’s psychedelic/surf rock group like The Beach Boys. Granted, this is not to say that the band itself is striving to specifically follow in the footsteps of these musical icons, but the laid-back, easygoing strumming of the guitar, the unprecedented and consistent unity of the trio’s vocals, and the provided backbone of the drums certainly contains the influence of the aforementioned group and genre. It’s somewhat of a departure from the previous songs; albeit a detour that may not be noticed upon the album’s first listen.
The sixth song, “Broke,” is a return to the aggressive confidence of the earlier tracks, as Stoley wails, “Your rules don’t apply in this game.” The proceeding track, “Kate,” kicks off with the promise of fury, but is rather controlled, utilizing colorful guitar and bass chords in different parts of the song, rather than continuously throughout it.
“Learning Curve,” the eighth track, is the only song that purposefully distorts the vocals rather than the guitars, as the first few verses sound as though Stoley is singing from the bottom of a well, his voice oddly disconnected and faraway.
Finally, the closing track, “I’m A Rebel,” employs only the acoustic guitar, which is a surprising contradiction to the connotation of electricity and wild vibrancy of the track’s title. Stoley confesses, “Like a bee sting feeling side/For the fifteenth time tonight/And I don’t know if it’s right/So I conceal/But I’m a rebel, for real.” Running at just under 2 minutes and thirty seconds, “I’m A Rebel” is both poignant and complete, like a sunset on the last night of summer.
The 411: Despite some of the album's rough edges, it's upbeat and throwback sound keeps it from coming off as the consequence of the current generation's cultural fad. Although not as instantly memorable as some of the other heavyweights and wonder-debuts of its genre, StoleyPT's winter-summer-winter-summer thankfully has much more hits than misses.
