Description
Missing You Dearly is the debut album by the American indie rock band twothirtyeight, released on Takehold Records in 1998. The album was recorded in August 1998 by Frank Heath at Sound Works Studios in Decatur, Alabama; with Brett Detar of The Juliana Theory and ZAO fame producing. Mixed by Heath. All songs written and performed by the band.
Two-Thirty Eight features Chris Staples on vocals and guitar, Kevin Woerner on guitar, Owen Grabo on bass, and David James Stone on drums.
One of Takehold Records’ flagship bands and supposedly capable of delivering a punch of a live show, Two-Thirty Eight rocks out the power pop/emo/indie rock way. Think Plankeye as an emo band. Quiet/loud dynamics, building crescendoes, melodies, driving rhythms, and sections of stripped-back bass, drums, and single string guitar picking. The vocals are typical for the genre – passionate, on the higher end of the scale, sometimes soft, sometimes crying in anguish.
The lyrics are atypical for the genre, though, actually being pretty clear and easily understood. They stick to first person ruminations on relationships with others and with God. A definite thread of sorrow for and disappointment over females winds through the album. «Things Mistaken» repeatedly mourns “and she gave herself away” until you really feel sad for the girl. «Chase What Makes Your Heart Flutter» deals with exactly what it sounds like: getting over an emotion-driven girl who can’t commit. «My Friend Pedro» wistfully proclaims “Seasons change just like people do/ Always thought we’d face the seasons without them changing you.”
The sadness over females is balanced by a craving for the love of God, even though it too hurts. «Stripped of All» goes “though my life is torn apart/ I feel you in my heart/ so many times I fail to see/ no one can take this love from me.” «Subtle Sacrifice» recognizes “The potter’s hand although refreshing/ is a painful place to be.”
There’s enough variety and energy here to avoid pidgeon-holing, but something extra is needed to push Two-Thirty Eight’s talent into the extra-special. There’s an anonymous delayed track at the end that sounds like a cover and rocks harder than the rest of the album, with its more lo-fi production and thicker guitar tones. Missing You Dearly is the band’s debut from ’98, so perhaps their follow-up this year is more satisfying. Still, this should appeal to fans of The Juliana Theory, recent Plankeye, and the like. [Josh Spencer, The Phantom Tollbooth, 12/17/99]
> iTunes
CD tracklist:
01. I’ll Never Do That
02. Things Mistaken
03. Color Blind
04. Number Four
05. Kevin
06. Stripped Of All
07. Chase What Makes Your Heart Flutter
08. Well So Deep
09. Subtle Sacrifice
10. Trials
11.1. My Friend Pedro
11.2. Untitled
[youtube_sc url=”” playlist=”v0RRra0h78g,07WR778QPyc,4NDGi2HwhVk,AL3DwbRGfxQ,20hRBO8YgOA,54P5g212hYc,ox52BG_Umjo,t2d3Goua3u4,orchDy04f2M,jjZKI5kQaP8,0s56fDQMXGo” title=”twothirtyeight, Missing You Dearly – I’ll Never Do That + Things Mistaken + Color Blind + Number Four + Kevin + Stripped Of All + Chase What Makes Your Heart Flutter + Well So Deep + Subtle Sacrifice + Trials + My Friend Pedro + Untitled” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]
[youtube_sc url=”9R93yoPyVik” title=”twothirtyeight – Colorblind, Live in 1997″ autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]Colorblind, Live in 1997
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.