Everyone has, at one time in their lives, been given the opportunity to get in on something—a business deal, an investment, or an experience—that is brand spankin’ new or on the ground floor; well, I was given one of those opportunities this past weekend when I went out with my friends to Mulligans in Valdosta, Georgia and listened to the band, Calling All Stars.

Granted, small local venues are not the greatest locations for “appreciating” or really studying a band’s performance on a technical level—but I found myself drawn into their original selections (and a couple of choice covers) and I knew that I wanted more after our first little shared intimate experience in front of this crowded little bar.

Well, I got a hold of one of their CD’s, a release from 2006, White Fields, and I was thoroughly taken aback by an offering, a grand opportunity—a melodic experience—to appreciate a group of young, talented musicians who are no doubt on the rise to bigger and better things. White Fields is the modern Alt-Rock equivalent of Dave Matthews Band’s 1993 release Remember Two Things—it’s a sample of things to come; an auspicious revelation that there is creative life beyond the synthetically soulless, post-modern doldrums of what fares for popular music in the mid-to-late “oughts”. Calling All Stars rocks with a vintage rock sound that is timeless and accessible.

Simply put, White Fields, as a whole, is very enjoyable from start to finish and allows for multiple listens. Vocalist Jamal Hafza provides a memorable, clean cadence; a melodic alloy that’s one part Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and one part Zac Maloy of The Nixons. His heartfelt belting really brings the pang home to the listener’s front door on tracks like “Drown”, “Sway”, and “A Hollywood Ending”. Hafza’s clear vocals are countered by the band’s frenetically stylish guitarist, Cason Neill, and technically brilliant drummer, Mick Wade; both play with a tenacity that strengthens heavy-hitting favorites like the title track to White Fields, as well as “Angel Eyes” and “Drown” (that’s twice I’ve mentioned this song, folks—it’s that good).

All that said, I have to go back to my original idea: these guys are still developing and there is a slight amount of room for growth within the selections on White Fields. I found the lyrical message of “Saved” to be a little too heavy-handed for my secular tastes. Also, I want to pretend to be Bruce Dickinson for a second and demand that future songs have more cow bell; and by “cow bell”, I mean keyboards. Some of the strongest tracks on White Fields all seem to have this underlying power that’s brought out via this understated instrument in the band’s potent arsenal.

Together this trio (with the addition of band members, Wesley Flowers, and ‘The General’ since the recording of White Fields) provide a tour-de-force of sound and several of the aforementioned songs bare a solid, potentially anthem-like quality that confronts the listener—and says, “Hey, we feel what you feel.” The accessibility of this music absolutely forbids you from NOT liking this band. I thoroughly enjoyed both opportunities to experience the band performing live sets this past weekend. If you like emotive, hard-hitting Alt-Rock with an abundance of Pop sensibility then you’ll really dig Calling All Stars.

Update: After I finished listening to White Fields, I started scouring the internet for current tracks from their upcoming album release and I found two new songs—“Sonar” and “Lost Vegas”. Go and listen for yourself; these songs provide proof that this band is coming into their own. Calling All Stars is a musical opportunity worth taking; the sky is nowhere near the limit for this stellar band.

http://www.myspace.com/callingallstars
http://www.malimarrecords.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 9:52 am and is filed under Bars and Nightlife, Culture, Hype, Music, Op-Ed, Steven Eks. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.