Albums by this artist

Hope And Dream Explosion (1998)

Drill Team

Hope And Dream Explosion

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» MARVIN LIN | STAFF WRITER

Drill Team Hope And Dream Explosion Reprise, 1998 RiYL: Superdrag, Radiohead, Weezer

There is a lot to say about the band Drill Team's freshman effort Hope And Dream Explosion. Unfortunately, most of it is lacking the positive words that a fan of Drill Team would like to see. The main problem with this album is the lack of creativity and individuality. Every song on the album reminds me of another band and gives me that awful gut feeling that i've heard the chorus before -- not good.

Drill Team basically sounds like a band that was hired by corporate executives looking for the perfect blend of Superdrag, Radiohead (The Bends era), and Weezer. Each song is terribly predictable. Drill Team tends to not use their distortion pedals tastefully, they just step on them and leave it at that. The songs are so overproduced that you cannot really feel any ingenuity at all. Even the lyrics are unoriginal. "Peppermint" features the brilliant couplet "Even if you go, it's hard to say good-bye / I will never leave, even if you scream." "Monarch Mine" endlessly repeats the line "I can't say good-bye, can't say good-bye, and you're never coming down."

Don't get me wrong, there are positive elements too. Unfortunately, with every positive point to Hope And Dream Explosion, a negative one follows. And the negatives outweigh the positives:

Positive: Each song rocks hard and is saturated with high energy. You can actually picture the band playing their hearts out live when you listen to each track.

Negative: Yes, the songs rock hard...but they do so in the exact same fashion over and over. Each song seems so much like its predecessor that the album has no breathing room.

Positive: Each member of the quartet has a good voice.

Negative: They never use this element to create anything original. I know the last thing the band wants to be is a barbershop quartet, but it never hurts to experiment a little.

Positive: Lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Michael Long has a good strong voice and spouts it off with attitude.

Negative: His voice is nearly indistinguishable from its competitors on the modern rock charts. If Drill Team were to replace the lead singer, they wouldn't miss a beat.

Drill Team can definitely play their instruments. They are talented individuals, but it basically ends there. Drill Team's artistic vision is either blind or needs some glasses to give a new perspective on their music.

MARVIN LIN |