OCTOBER 2009 ONLINE EDITORIALS

Aloft in the Sundry - Fore

album cover

By Erik Myers

No instrument expresses angst like the piano. It might not be as old as the guitar, but its classic elegance usually puts despair in a far more gorgeous and fantastical light than the dude with the Fender DG on open mic night ever could.
There are, however, a gaggle of CO bands who earnestly believe that piano rock can evoke the same depressions expressed in candlelight sonatas. It turns out they’re right, but only because most Americans identify with overwrought sentiments and shallow orchestration.
Just don’t make the mistake of grouping Aloft in the Sundry with all the other Fray-wannabes. Occasionally the group seems to be “sapping” their skills for all that they’re worth, but the Arvada foursome is not shy to experiment with emo inflection and certainly enjoy delivering a good surprise. All of it, good and bad, is on display on Fore, their wink-and-a-nod fourth recording.
Opener “Mr. Misanthrope” gets it right. Vocalist Jason Hernandez wails and screams over a well-balanced mix of guitar and keyboard riffs. The ghostly opera singer providing background vocals goes unnoticed until the chorus hook pours out. Consider this post-post-hardcore.
Unfortunately, this immense weirdness is in limited supply. Aloft in the Sundry is so frequently pinned with the term “melodrama” by music critics, one wonders if it’s just part of the act. Even if that’s the case, tracks “Sell and Be Sold” and “Gail Force Winds” display not-ready-for-primetime melodies plastered in flakey sentiment that’s barely worthy of 93.3FM but very capable of a hundred-thousand simultaneous groans.
www.myspace.com/aloftinthesundrymusic