Album Review: Andrew's Ave. - Self Titled

In the process of trying to expand my work as an author, and with a little help from our buddies in Andrew's Ave., I finally took on the operation of writing an album review. It sounded like such an easy task - until I actually began working on it, that is. So hopefully I am able to do these talented gentlemen some justice.

Read more on the new album, after the jump!

Andrew's Ave. is an act out of Lincoln, NE that has been working the crowds for a little over a year. Their genre is, well, let’s just say unclassifiable. To make a long story short, they are a mixture of rock and jam with heavy influences of jazz and funk scattered frequently throughout. They have gained notoriety locally with their fun-filled live shows. Their self-titled debut album, which they are releasing during a live show at The State Theatre with Little Black Stereo and Vibenhai in support, is due out on October 3rd. After giving it a few whirls, particularly on some very long, thought provoking drives, I finally felt that I had a grasp on the album. One of the first things that amused me was the variety and spontaneity of each song. Minus the unique vocals, musically, this band would be quite hard to pick out by earshot. Any act that can be that resilient is gifted in my eye.

The disc starts off what seems like the perfect introductory track - the melodic, jammy track entitled “Outside of My Mind,” lets the listener relax in preparation for what lies ahead. This theme continues until “The Story of Andrew,” a little bit of a ballad that throws in a slew of dark sounding keyboard choruses. Once again, the album falls back into a jam influenced mode, until it hits another genre-bending speed bump with “Train Ride Romance,” a funky fast-paced track with hints of mellowness in between that even each other out for some tasteful noise.

In summary, I feel that Andrew's Ave. pulled off a blissful roller coaster ride of an album with their freshman effort. There are few moments while listening that leave me craving a change. I was a little concerned going into this, as I felt that it would be quite difficult to duplicate their sound outside of the live setting, but these guys somehow found the happy medium. And it sounds sooooo nice! Keep a look out for this act - they seem like they're on the right track. See ya at the State Theatre in Lincoln on October 3rd!

For a unique and fresh album that has already granted me several pleasurable listening sessions, I give Andrew's Ave.'s self-titled debut 7/10 slices, and I surely am looking forward to watching these guys progress!

Til next time,
The Toastman