Artist: Born Animal
Album: Celebration Revolution EP
Release Date: 12/1/17
RIYL: Cage the Elephant, Harvey Danger, R.E.M.
Rating: 7.5/10
Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, Born Animal is a rock band consisting of Ryan Stowe, Stephen Luther, Sean Rosettie, and Evan Miranda. Their second EP, Celebration Revolution, has the energy of a celebration and a revolution. So. Much. Umph. Let me tell you. What’s awesome about this album is that everything is clear—you can distinguish each instrument and Stowe’s prominent voice. Two rocking songs that I highly recommend you listen to are “I Think I Think Too Much” and “Do You Want My Blood?” Celebration Revolution’s lyrics are ones that every person can connect to.
The catchiest song of the album is definitely “I Think I Think Too Much.” The lyrics of the chorus, the guitar riffs, the bass lines, the rhythm of the keyboard, and the synth-ily distorted background vocals make this track a heavy rock song with pop influences. The lyrics that polish off the track are: “I think I think too much/for my own good/the signs were all around me and I missed them all because I think I think too much.” I mean, for over-thinkers like myself, how freakin’ accurate are these lyrics? The heaviest song of the album is appropriately named “Do You Want My Blood?” The guitar riffs in the chorus of the song are paired with rock-ballad vocals, which really make an awesome pair. Though, I do think this song would sound more cohesive with that rock-ballad sound without some of the synth accents that you can hear after the chorus.
Theses elements—synth-y keyboard accents—of the songs “cheese-up” the rock-ness of this album, especially in the track “Hanging by a Thread.” There is also the same underlying 4-quarter note beat in a few of the songs, which can make the tracks hard to distinguish at some points. I also think that the vocals of “Snake Eyes,” specifically in the chorus could use some more intonation, but the instrumental bridge of the song is so sweet—it even reminds me a little of Rage Against the Machine. Overall, Celebration Revolution really does have high-energy due to an interesting combination of its lighter and heavier instrumental influences, and definitely deserves a listen!
