Big Dismal - Believe
by Rachael Reardon

Big Dismal - Believe
Label: Windup
Rating:

Guitar rock new comers Big Dismal, are presently doing the rounds of the U.S.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Tallahassee quartet will hit the mainstream like flies to s***. Apparently the moniker came from their view of �living in dismal times' and their heroic quest to bring a bit of positive attitude to it. But to be honest, considering the past years world events, I doubt the word �dismal' is appropriate in contrast to the general lyric-fest of heartache whined out by vocalist Eric Durrance.

I'm not against this extremely important and relevant topic, voiced by many throughout their music, but please, do not stand tall like Hercules, saving the world from �dismal times' when there is much s***tier stuff going on than being dumped by your girlfriend.

�Too Pretty' has a strong flavour of catchy country-rock, with Durrance sounding like a cross between mainstream watered-down rocker Alex Band from The Calling, and that guy from Theory Of A Deadman with the porno-esque �tache.

�Just The Same' could easily be picked from any chick flick with a �swooning over lost love' moment with its romantic, head nodding acoustic feel. This song sums up perfectly why the mainstream will pick up Big Dismal, quick as a flash.

Their music will not only entice the same audience as the similar sounding The Calling etc, but it will make every alt-country rocker whoop with joy with something brand new and exciting to get their teeth into.

Maybe �new' isn't the right word for any non-country rockers though, because as much as this band has the routine formula for success, there's nothing remotely �new' about their sound. Nothing that grabs you by the throat and hollors �check us out! We sound awesome!'�or something similar to that.

A soft sounding pluck of a guitar melody, on �Reality', introduces a bass line, crashing cymbals and up tempo beat that could easily be mistaken for Hoobastank with a young Chad Kroeger on vox.

Durrance's, attempt to reassure us during �Just The Same' - "You look like you could use a friend, I'm not like all the rest..." - fall on dead ears, as unluckily for Big Dismal, that's exactly what they are.

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