Rome Will Burn – Rome Will Burn
Rome Will Burn – Rome Will Burn – EP Review
A glamorous and glitzy electro-pop sound is emanating out of Los Angeles, CA – all stemming from the wild & exotic rhythms and melodies from the duo behind the music in Rome Will Burn. They’ve just released their debut self-titled EP, and as soon as it starts you’ll have a great understanding as to why this band is already creating a solid-buzz out there in music-land…these are single-worthy tunes all throughout the record.
No kidding – they’ve already surpassed 17,000 fans on the Facebook page, which is incredible. What’s also incredible is their bio! I wasn’t kidding before, and I’m not now either; I’ve written some-hundreds of bios myself – but I think this one takes the cake – that’s a novel. I know a novel when I read one. Their story is one that would take a tree’s worth of paper to fill for sure…a story of two souls born to make music on long roads that eventually weave together permanently to now create the music in Rome Will Burn. It’s a long story – but it’s a good read and really gives you the history behind how this music, band and EP have all come together at long last.
They’ve made a solid choice in combining their talents. The dynamic, pulsing rhythm of the opening rhythm in the music of “Chameleon” already puts a spotlight on Carlton Moody’s ability to put together a killer beat & melody; equally impressive is how lead-singer Alyssa Suede has fit her vocals into the flow. Smartly matching the energy in the music, her voice snaps quickly to the beat & music…she’s part angel, part Rihanna, part robot…and don’t get me wrong, I mean Rihanna in a good way…and yes, robot too. What I’m saying is she has the excellent ability to really get technical with her approach and get right in there on “Chameleon” like she’s another element of the music and really carries a lot of the rhythm through the vocals on this opening tune. Incidentally, it’s also the closing-tune in a “(Clean Version)” – so rest assured good people – if you’re already loving the tune, you’ll get yourself a double-dose of this wild-electro-ride.
I knew right away in listening to “These Three Words” that there would be almost no hope in me finding a track I’d like better on this record – that’s how powerful this song is when you hear it upon impact. The electro-assembly from Moody is MASSIVE…the swells in low-end sound through the chorus are gigantic…and there is NO DOUBT that were it not for the incredible music that this track could not do all of the amazing things that it ends up doing…I want that on record. And I want that on record BECAUSE…I gotta admit…I almost feel like Moody could be overlooked as the truly equal-half he is in this music of Rome Will Burn…because when you hear a performance like what Suede puts in on “These Three Words” – it’s nearly impossible not to fade away into the background of everyone’s mind. She is beyond beautiful on this song…the emotional content in the lyrics is so well-delivered through her singing…perfect as perfect gets. She’s got a fantastic sound to her voice that is close to someone like Ellie Goulding,…but there is something very similar in how smart their instincts are in the writing and where they place the energy, emotion and added emphasis in just the rights spots of the music. Spot-on performance from both these two entities, proving that the sum-total of their talents is paramount to that of which any of their possible individual efforts could be.
And WHAT? Rome Will Burn…NICE TRY. I can totally understand that you’d assume a bearded-guy like me that sits in a chair writing about music all day long wouldn’t get up and dance to “Waging Romance.” I’m not offended…I get why you’d assume that….BUT YOU’RE WRONG. I’m all-over this beat; some of the most innovative twists through what Moody is creating…wicked combinations of beats & strings – and once again Alyssa Suede is smooth as silk in her delivery and creates one of the most insatiable vocal-rhythms I’ve heard on record this year. “Waging Romance” is catchy as all-hell and a pure delight to listen to…and much the same is true of the following tune, “Live By The Beat.” On the latter-tune, I was a little mixed at times when it came to the lyrics…I think examples like in the second verse are standout highlights of the best, while at other-times were a little more implied through the rhythm of the music and somewhat redundant through the words added…if that makes any sense. I suppose you could just as easily argue that they were ‘fitting,’ – and they do…just comparatively I thought there were more interesting lines throughout the other tunes. Besides…it’s all about having a great-time…and I get that; it’s only because I’m a writer of these word-things myself that I’m always listening for a little more and looking for the lyricism to shine – not all songs are about that. “Live By The Beat” and “Body Language” aren’t about that – they truly ARE about fitting the vibe and really bringing in that extra melody to the overall rhythm in their combination. “Body Language” especially – the wordage here is truly minimal, yet Suede is no-less busy that Moody is…the words become a hypnotic-rhythm and their repetition really plays a part in how this combination works – for the record, I do ‘get it.’ BUT…that being said…I think there’s shining examples of lyricism on “These Three Words” and “Waging Romance” that will satisfy the people like me that crave that – and I think it’s a solid-move on the part of Rome Will Burn that they’ve made accessible music from many angles that can appeal to many people out there throughout the playback of this record.
Rome Will Burn is definitely on the right path…the tone, performances, sounds, composition and flow…it’s all here and even though when you read the history, you know it didn’t happen overnight…but if you’re anything like me you’ll be glad that it eventually DID. It’s a sparkling effort in production and an EP full of vibrant & versatile performances with something that’s bound to audibly-appeal to most everyone out there looking for a solid new rhythm & groove in their music accompanied by the confident sound of a singer that brings it all to that next-level through the combination of talent, hard-work, dedication…and the pure-love for making incredible music to share with you all.
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