Artist: 1997
Album: A Better View of the Rising Moon
Label: Victory Records
Purchase: Smartpunk
Release Date: April 17, 2007

Overall: 6.9
Music: 7.2
Lyrics: 6.5
Production: 7.0

Victory Records, a label that you would associate with bands of the paving the way through the emo rock genre, and the label producing the music for fans with hoodies and hair in their faces. Now you see 1997, Victory’s new band with a female vocalist and you are possibly thinking, “Wow a new sound!” Not quite though. Yes, this band does range from different sounds that are most definitely more breakthrough than the other Victory artists, but they’re still not quite that original and amazing. We already have bands like 1997 on the rise now with female singers. How about the famous FBR artist The Hush Sound and Paramore. Of course they are great bands, now add a hint of Taking Back Sunday and some little less than good produce songs and you have 1997. Before I go too much further, let me at least say that I am starting to get into this album. It has taken a few listens, and I get a different reaction everytime I play it.

First play I started with “Hey Darlin”, which by the name seemed like a catchy track. Well I liked the intro where they sang ‘Hey Darlin’, you paint a pretty picture’, but other than that i wasn’t impressed at all by the song. I only managed to feel the same way about most of the other songs on the album. Some songs even just seem like they almost don’t fit in with their whole genre. Like “The Water’s Edge”, which is a song with really heavy guitars for the choruses with the straining emo vocals, switching to out of place weak verses that just don’t quite sound like they belong. Then they have a song like “In Your Car” they has one of the most annoying choruses I’ve heard in a while, not to mention the words from the chorus were practically repeated the entire song just in different ways. Let’s move on to “Patience, Prudence”, yeah it’s alright. Either the male vocals in the prechorus have guest vocals from Adam from TBS or we know what they were trying to pull off. One of my favorite tracks on the album happens to be “Grace”, mostly because of the female singer is pretty much solo in the song. Not to mention I think the whole song is written better overall. “Grace” really gives her a chance to let her display the full extent of her singing capability. At this point I feel like I do not even need to mention the rest of the songs individually, but just let you know that it pretty much goes downhere from here.

The better songs are most definitely at the beginning of the album. All the songs really just sound like your average emo band trying to go into a more indie-folk-pop-rock band and falling a little short. The male and female vocals going over here other constantly just makes the songs just sound to jumbled up at times and is really what impresses most people about the band, and I do not find it all that amazing. Then there are the times where the vocals switch back and forth from lines in a very overly ripped off way of Taking Back Sunday. Honestly though the more I did play this album I began to sing along to it and get it stuck in my head. Yes the album is catchy, but more along the lines of those catchy songs you don’t want to sing along with but after you are kind of forced to sit and listen to it so you can review it, they kind of just get stuck in there. 1997 is a band that I just put along the lines of an alright band, with a style of music that I’m just not really going to keep on listening to. Although I would suggest that this band would not really get that huge, with the pull of Victory Records nowdays, it is quite possible. This is a definite Victory Records album, you like Victory try this out, especially if you like female singers. I really was a little over critical of the album. It isn’t horrible, but I for one do not think they are breakthrough. Even after writing this I’m sure I will listen to some of the songs again. I wouldn’t take all of my opinion for it though. At least give it a listen and make up your own decision about it.

Standout Tracks
“Garden Of Evil”, “Grace”, “Hey Darlin’”

Tracklisting
1. Water’s Edge
2. Garden Of Evil
3. Hey Darlin’
4. In Your Car
5. Patience, Prudence
6. Grace
7. The Roads You Can Take
8. Lovelikepoetry
9. Tennessee Song
10. Enough Is Enough
11. Droppin Dimes
12. Curse Or Cure