True Blue
Posted May 16, 2010
By JJFrancesco_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Manic Drive's Blue is an interesting release. It's not exactly a re-release of their previous album Reset and Rewind. But it uses 8 of those songs, one of which is slightly altered from that version(more on that in a minute). It also has 4 new songs.
But Blue is an album that is taking the band to new heights due to better distribution. And that's definitely a good thing as it's a strong, if imperfect, album.
The album opens up with a catchy stringed intro that erupts into the rocking "Music." The mix of strings and a technoish sound is a unique and satisfying experience. The electric "Walls" follows next, and then the title track, which is the track I mentioned earlier as being altered from it's Reset and Rewind version. The former version has Kevin Max singing backup but this time around, they got the lead singer of Storyside:B, Lu Rubino, to do it. Other than that, the song is unchanged and Rubino backs up the vocals nicely.
The ballad "Closer" follows next and has a piano-driven hook that easily makes it an album highlight.
Other highlights include the Reset and Rewind hit "Eleven Regrets" and the final new track for this album, "Rain."
The rest of the albums is hit or miss. "Hope," "December Mourning," and "Change" are good but fall short of the quality of the aforementioned highlights.
"Dancefloor" did nothing for me and "NYC Gangsters" just wasn't for me. But I could see how they'd be popular as well.
All in all, this is a good release from Manic Drive and quality I hope they build on with their next release. View All Music And Book Reviews By JJFrancesco_NRT | View JJFrancesco_NRT's Profile
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