WC PERFORMER – The Imprints – Marvelous Escape


www.theimprints.com
www.myspace.com/theimprints

The Imprints – Marvelous Escape
Produced by The Imprints
Recorded by Rob Stroup at 8 Ball Studio
Mixed by Matt Shultz at 8 Ball Studio
Mastered by Matt Shultz at SuperDigital

When just about every song in existence grapples with love’s constant burden, it’s refreshing to hear a fresh perspective on the matter. The Imprints, a five-piece pop rock band from Portland, successfully accomplish this on Marvelous Escape, the follow-up to their well-received 2005 debut Sounds of the Aftermath. With lush textures and a more distinguished tone, Marvelous Escape improves on the already excellent Sounds with solid songwriting and clever, metaphor-laden lyrics utilized to uniquely describe everyday commonalities.

Often compared to bands like Wilco, The Imprints exude a variety of influences from alt-country to robustly saturated Brit rock. Songs like “Long Chapter One” display the band’s knack for illustrative lyrics: “I could sit and stare at you for days / Just thinking about the next page.” One of the many offbeat topics covered on the album, the hypocrisy of high society is examined in “Summer Homes” as frontman Rob Stroup sings, “Dame with a cocktail dressed to the nines / Feels altruistic raising charity dimes.” “Divine,” the most spacious track of all, incorporates willowy piano fills floating over a foundation of fingerpicked acoustic guitar, mirroring the lyrics’ image of a mid-flight bittersweet homage to a beloved Indiana town.

The Imprints clearly click as a collaborative effort, creating a sweeping landscape of organic harmony where every sound exhibits a distinct voice of its own. An explosion of breathless production, Marvelous Escape succeeds with upbeat appeal even during its most emotive moments. And in its conclusion, when one discovers love hidden slyly within (whether posed as book or plane), there is simple satisfaction in knowing it existed in the first place. (8 Ball Records)

www.theimprints.com

-Keane Li (more…)