Streetlight Manifesto - SOMEWHERE
IN THE BETWEEN
Victory Records
Alternative Press named Streetlight Manifesto’s Somewhere
In The Between the
most anticipated album of 2007. Frontman Tom Kalnoky and drummer, Chris Thatcher,
are the only remaining members from Streetlight’s original lineup appearing
on the band’s debut, Everything Goes Numb. One reason for the anticipation
may have been the fact that the album’s release date was originally
announced in the magazine as January 23, when, in fact, the album would not
be released until November 13.
Songwriter/guitar player/singer Tom Kalnoky, previously a member of Ska favorites, Catch 22, was largely responsible
for that band’s Keasby Street album, regarded by many as one of the most important in Third Wave Ska. Streetlight Manifesto’s rerecording of Keasby Street is now available through Victory Records. Kalnoky takes an obviously large role in Somewhere In The Between too, even designing the cover art and layout for the album.
Every song on the CD is catchy and clever. Throughout, it features a lot of low range vocal harmonies that sound almost System-Of-A-Down-inspired. Kalnoky, who writes almost all of the band’s songs, said in an interview before this release that it would have a world infl uence with Eastern and Gypsy sounds running through it. He has said that he is heavily influenced by the Stand By Me soundtrack and inspired by 50s and 60s music like the Drifters, as well as Nirvana and The Squirrel Nut Zippers.
“We Will Fall Together,” the album’s first
single and video subject, starts the album
with great horn work from the band’s four-piece section – Jim
Conti, tenor and alto sax, Mike Soprano, Trombone, Michael Brown, alto and
baritone sax and Matthew Stewart, a last minute addition to Streetlight before
the album. “Mephisto’s Café” starts off slower, but
picks up right away and grows to be anthemic. Kalnoky’s guitar work
makes “Watch It Crash” great. “Somewhere In The Between”
is a catchy and serious statement and one of this album’s best songs.
A lot of the songs on Somewhere In The Between talk about Kalnoky’s
philosophy of personal responsibility and choice over religious magical thinking
or fatalism. “Somewhere” is one of the best of the many examples
of this on the album.
Kalnoky has said that he first writes Streetlight’s
songs on an acoustic guitar,
fl eshes them out on the computer and then hums basic horn lines. That process
is a
noticeable part if this album. The horns are an integrated part of every song.
According to their press, “Ska is alive and well and
the band that is doing it best is
Streetlight.” They just finished a massive tour with Reel Big Fish and
Less Than
Jake and shared the stage with Gym Class Heroes and Voodoo Glow Skulls. Their
May appearance at the Bamboozle Festival in their native New Jersey this May
was
reportedly one of the festival’s best performances.
By Frances Brennan
ALBUM REVIEW:
Streetlight Manifesto - Somewhere In The Between
VICTORY RECORDS
