Chester French – Love The Future Review
If you had a choice of signing with Kanye West or Pharrell Williams, which one would you choose? Please. Hands down it’s Pharrell > Kanye. This was the choice Chester French (D.A. Wallach & Maxwell Drummey) had to make. After a bidding war, Chester French signed to Williams’ Star Trak Label. All this fuss for 2 Harvard graduates who call their music ‘ gentlemen rock’, is it worth it?
For most parts, they sound like a mix of She Wants Revenge’s mellow tone and Razorlight’s energy. But mainly, I can hear a great Michael Jackson influence in their work. It’s the ‘Ooow’ & ‘Aaah’ element. You’ll recognize it when you hear it. Anyway, I’m a bit perplexed as to whether or not I really like the album. First, I think a lot of their music kinda sounds the same; and yet, it’s a little scattered without great uniformity. I can hear the talent though, but will they last? Amidst bands that all kind of sound the same, it’s really hard to tell. This is just their start, I think they would have to bring more edge to the table. There is raw talent that hopefully will remain despite their success.
The album, for most parts, contains simple melodies with complex orchestration. The singing seems almost irrelevant, it’s just a way to transfer some of the ideas. Since they produce all the songs, their attention to details is very evident. The littlest sound does in fact make a difference and gives them a bit of an identity. Their lyrical topics stay within the range of young men searching for love and lust around dark corners of the cities.
C’Mon (On My Own) and Time To Unwind in close proximity to Razorlight’s 2006 work. Tracks like The Jimmy Choos and Neal have a Happy Days feel. Fingers is a more Broadway showtune-like influenced track. They move between dark interludes, like String interlude, to western-influenced songs, Beneath The Wing. They use this method within tracks also, where they move from one element to another, like a clear day that sees dark clouds take over and clear up 10 minutes later. The released single She Loves Everybody sounds very influenced by Billie Jean. I particularly like the Country interlude, the sounds of a French countryside. And, my absolutely favourite track is Not Over You, that mixes the sickly sweet xylophone bits, softer electronica keyboards and a 1-2 simple drum beat.
Love The Future is definitely worth a listen and very catchy. It’s 2 guys who make a lot of great noise and I would say, worth the fuss (despite my ambiguity). Btw, who is the geisha love on their cover? lol. And, doesn’t the singer look like Chris Martin’s younger twin?
Go to their MySpace to sample all their tracks.
Watch the video. Always fun to see female on male violence (yes, I know some people are sensitive. I just have a sicker sense of humour).
Tags: album
