You know the old saying; “You can’t judge a book by its cover”? Well here at Reviewsic we’ve come to adapt that idiom to our own business, with variations such as “You can’t judge a record by its album art” or “You can’t judge a band by its name”. We recently had to revisit that tried and true phrase when we received an EP from Copenhagen, Denmark musicians, A Road to Damascus.
A biblical reference in music seems to go one of two ways: preachy or preposterous- either we’re about to get the good word told to us whether we like it or not, or someone is going to take a satirical (insert obscenity here) all over a holy phrase. Fortunately for us these Danish delights do neither, and the issue of identity is never again raised except for the question, “Where have these guys been?”
Essentially this five piece and fairly new band does exactly what so many up and coming musicians in local music attempt to do: fuse pop punk and screamo into something of compositional worth. With their debut EP, So Damn Close the band delivers all the catchiness of Jimmy Eat World, just the right amount of whine New Found Glory used to be great at, and still manage to simply rock. We pick up some Just Surrender and Halifax vibes within these guys, grouped with a set of pipes from a front man who, while still young, is fully capable of being a serious songbird. Amid the nasally notes we also detect hints of something with deeper resonance, ala Twin Atlantic and bands of the like.
Poppy percussion dominates title track ‘So Damn Close’ accompanied by infectious hooks and melodies that are sure to be sing along favorites among any listener that comes across it. ‘Sweetheart’, a song that stays in that similar pop punk vein, but fails to really grab us until about half way through, follows up our opener. As the end of this track nears, the listener is suddenly treated to a beautifully executed croon that is coupled with cries from the bands established screamer, and the two vocals play over the chugging bass with just the right balance. We think its safe to say that it’s in the last sixty seconds of this song that A Road to Damascus really shows their potential as a band.
The last track, inevitably meant to leave fans wanting more, is a little more nasally than the others, but its here that our screams get a little more body behind them. Note also has to be made of the guitar part midway through the song, where it really wails, pulling back just in time to let our front man fall back into a comfortable croon. We were big fans of this song’s give and take as far as pace goes, but probably would have enjoyed it more if our singer could soften the edge of his inflection just a tad.
Save for our previous praise over the screams in ‘She walks Alone’, we weren’t the biggest fans of the yelps and yells we heard. Over all the screaming felt a little bit weak, but we’re more than happy to take this slightly muted shout over one that’s curdling or grating any day.
Needless to say, this debut EP is one that took us by surprise, and honestly stirred up some excitement over a genre we long felt like we had gotten over. A Road to Damascus is a young band that could use some tweaking here and there- but the key phrase is “could use”. The difference between “should” and “could” is the option to leave something as is, and in this case “could use” is just a push for perfection. A Road to Damascus has our vote as a band to keep an eye on- we’ve got the feeling these five will be making something of themselves in the near future.
All the way from across Atlantic, A Road to Damascus bass player, Jakob Munk, took some to answer a few of our questions via email. Check out what he had to say about the band’s plans, his favorite local bands, and who in the business he’d love to work with.
Reviewsic: Can you give us a quick recap of what the band has been up to as of late?
Jakob Munk: We have been sending out our debut EP out to practically everyone, and been working hard on writing some new songs!
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jakob Munk: Phew, tough one. Theres plenty, but just from the top of my head I’d say:
A Day To Remember, My Chemical Romance and Underoath because all these bands seem like genuine guys, who’s done a lot of touring - especially in the states (which is a dream for us to come over and tour in) and we’d be able to learn a lot from them. And of course because I love their music.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Jakob Munk: I’m influenced by such a great amount of different music that I simply can’t narrow it down to just three. I’m influenced by music that inspires me, be it classical, death metal, folk or whatever. There’s so much great music out there, waiting for me to hear it, so I’m broadening my musical horizon as much as I possibly can.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Jakob Munk: The drums. No doubt, I suck so badly at them.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Jakob Munk: The Felix Culpa - amazing band from America, who best describes themselves as a progressive Indie band with post-hardcore elements. Whatever you call it, it’s great
Dioramic - this really cool German band, who plays some really groovy experimental metal.
Midlake - They played here in Denmark about a month ago. Their new album (The Courage of Others) has a great vibe, great lyrics and many great compositions.
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Jakob Munk: Jon “Joshua” Schumann - a Danish producer who’s worked with some great Danish acts such as Mew and Kashmir.
I think that he’d be very suitable for us, and our co-operation would produce some great music.
Reviewsic: Who are three of your favorite local bands? What is the local music scene like in your hometowns?
Jakob Munk: I’d say Trusted few, Cleo Malone and By the Patient. Copenhagen has a flourishing music scene, lots of activity and good music.
Reviewsic: What’s the backstory on how the band came to be what it is today?
Jakob Munk: Well, two of the members go way back. Jakob (guitar) and Mads played in a band called Late August, which fell apart due to the other members suddenly leaving. But with no intention of giving up, they decided to start up a new project. Jakob was the lead singer in Late August, but since his vocal abilities were limited, they decided to look for a new lead singer. After some try outs, it ended up being Mads’ little brother Mathias who fitted the most! Through the internet they continued to search for a new drummer and bass player, and after several months of failed auditions, Anders showed up on drums and a couple of months later Jakob (me) on bass. After both auditions, the rest of the band had no doubt that they were the ones they’d been searching for, and in August 2009 the band was complete! Since then it’s been all hard work coming up to were we are now, and we have no intention of slowing down.
Reviewsic: Tell us about this EP- is there a particular concept behind it? What was the process of making the album like?
Jakob Munk: This is our debut EP. There’s no particular concept behind this release. We had a low budget making this EP, so most of the instrumentals were recorded over a weekend, and then vocals were recorded over the course of a couple of months, while mixes were sent back and forth between the band and our mixer.
We had great fun recording it, we’re all really into the whole process of recording an album, and we can’t wait to record some of our new stuff! So besides the fact that we’d thought, and planned, that we would be much quicker with finishing recording everything (vocals were a bitch), We’ve gained a lot of experience, and are looking forward to doing it again!
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at the point of this EP as opposed to when you first began playing together?
Jakob Munk: Tighter! And more aware of our direction.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
Jakob Munk: For me one of the highlights were the moment I had the master in my hand, and drove home to Mads where we all sat and listened to the finished product for the first time. It was a feeling of relief, but at the same time excitement about what was going to happen from now on.
Can’t really say there’s been a worst band moment yet, things have been going quite well for us.
Reviewsic: How did you get your start in music?
Jakob Munk: I have an older cousin who’s been playing guitar his whole life. He played “Master of Puppets” by Metallica for me when I was 12, I was very frightened at first - and then hooked. I’ve always looked up to him, I used to stay over at his house watching him play, and listen to all sorts of records with him, so starting to play guitar myself came as a natural thing. Music became an increasing part of my life ever since. Later I picked up the bass, and am now taking piano lessons.
Reviewsic: What are three words you’d use to describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Jakob Munk: Catchy, dynamic and confident.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
Jakob Munk: We’re going on tour to Germany in April. Besides that, we’re going to continue to spread the word about us, write some awesome new songs, play a lot of gigs, work harder than ever and enjoy ourselves doing it!
Tags: International, New Music, New Release
