Los Angeles rock band Everest might not be the most chipper group of musicians, but its effort on the new album “On Approach” is far from depressing.
The album sounds like much more of a complete idea than the band’s 2007 debut, “Ghost Notes.” Songwriter and vocalist Russell Pollard‘s approach is a bittersweet one. The lyrics are sad, but Pollard’s voice combines a poignant longing with just a hint of hopeful optimism so things don’t become overly dismal.
Pollard sounds remarkably like folk artist Langhorne Slim, a tone which, coupled with the band’s mellow instrumental style, lends a folk sensation to the music. The guitar playing of Jason Soda and Joel Graves is primarily not acoustic, but instead a rather subdued electric method featuring mild distortion on tracks like “I’ve Had This Feeling Before.” On tracks like “Dots,” light piano playing and violin add to the effect.
The only downside is that things start to run together. After listening to the first six tracks, the next five just don’t stand out quite as well. Although bands tend to strategically place songs on an album based on what they perceive to be interesting to the listener, one would hope for more interesting fare at the tail end of the record. That being said, “On Approach” is a noticeable improvement over the group’s previous release and perhaps the third will continue the trend.
