by Eben Labuschagne
February 16th saw the release of Cape Town-based band Almost Alive’s long-awaited debut album, Apple. Beginning in the halls of Parel Vallei High School, the group morphed into a band characterized by their rootsy, yet contemporary approach to rock music, very much in the vein of the world-famous Arctic Monkeys. This is an influence the band wears on their sleeves, if not printed on their t-shirts.
The album starts off with “Video Games”, previously released as a single, immediately giving the listener a good idea of what to expect from their sound. The lead singer Henko “Barry” Uys, pairs his Alex Turner-esque croon expectedly well with the classic big band jazz composition of the track, before jumping into the next rockier but equally bluesy song “Man?”. Alongside 1980’s-style alternative-sounding pop tracks such as “Sweater Girl” there are some ballads such as “Cassie”. Barry’s voice really shines alongside honest and heartfelt lyrics.
However, the solidity of the riffs, smooth composition, and ease of the voice lay a listenable, catchy veil over the fact that their sound and writing are not as original as they could be. In Almost Alive, you will find all the foundations of a great band: The talent, the chops, the ability to play — all being bogged down by a lack of originality in their writing. Much too often all that stood out were stylistic quotations of the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys as well as the Smiths, especially in the melody writing. Although he executes it remarkably well, Barry sings too much with the voice and writing tendencies of his heroes.
In terms of production, the tracks are generally very well mixed, smooth, even, and easy on the ear. However, at some moments where one would expect volume and energy dynamics to come into play to properly conduct the tone of the song, it remains rather flat instead. I cannot necessarily fault the band for this choice, as it is a very common stylistic choice in contemporary music, reflective of the background music “fits-any-mood-playlist” listening style many of us are partial to. To those ends, the album is more than fitting as a backdrop to whatever you or your friends may be doing, delivering a mellow and stylish ambiance.
All in all, the band certainly has more than enough musical ability, but the approach feels very much rooted in sounding like their heroes — an easy well to topple into. These guys just need to let themselves shine a little bit more and then serious sparks could fly.
