Shadeland

This review could be this simple: I love this CD! Buy two copies! One for you, and another for a friend! They will thank you profusely!

However, I’m not going to do that. Though, if you’re pressed for time, the paragraph above will tell you everything you need to know! Mind's Eye is another band from Indianapolis that totally blows me away!

On a whole, this band sounds much like Incubus; the vocals are very similar, and the songs are written in a similar manner. For some, that is a turn-off; however, it doesn’t bother me. They have managed to keep a sound that is very unique to them, and yet you can like them for a lot of the same reasons you like a band like Incubus. Allen Kell’s guitar work is incredible, and very interesting. Drummer Brad Hudgins and bassist James Wuerch create a very complex and effective rhythm section, and the vocal work is stellar. Mind's Eye is an assemblage of great musicians!

It seems to me that a lot of work went into creating Until the Stars Align. There are attentions to detail (small keyboard sequences that add to the rhythms of the songs, guitar parts that are layered meticulously to create a very full, fat sound, and killer vocal harmonies) that push this CD over the top, to me. This is a well put-together album of great rock and roll music that actually moves me every time I hear it.

Standout tracks for me are the title track “Until the Stars Align”, “Regret”, “What Went Wrong”, “Jumpkick”, and “Wreckage”. Don’t get me wrong; every song on this CD is a solid song, and one that I won’t pass up when I hear the CD. I think I like “Until the Stars Align” because of the variety of guitar parts, and the sheer power of the chorus. “What Went Wrong” goes from sweet vocal harmonies to a rage-filled awe-inspiring bridge! “Regret” is a great song with outstanding lyrical content! “Wreckage” is a song that has a little of all of the above, and probably the best vocal harmonies on the CD! It just seems that every player in the band seems to meld into one to produce an incredible, powerful sound! Double bass work on the drums doesn’t sound cheesy and thrown in… it sounds well planned! In some ways, I guess the music is very efficient. Every bit of music is squeezed out of the band without anything that sounds contrived or thrown in for effect. The result is an awesome rock record.

I think that “Wreckage” is the best recording on this CD. A close second is “Jumpkick”. There is a bass lick in that song that is so short, but so incredibly moving, that it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear it! Those are the sorts of things that make me want to listen to this CD time after time. There is so much to hear, and so much for your senses to absorb!

I hope that people won’t dismiss this group as a Nu-Metal clone of Incubus, Linkin Park, or Creed. Those bands have gotten a bad rap lately; some of the criticism is perhaps deserved, (actually the problem is that radio stations have worn the music of these bands out!) but Mind's Eye should not be lumped in with these bands. There is so much attention to detail, and so much meticulous instrumental and vocal work that went into creating this CD, that I feel this band deserves to be heard! I think with the right luck and as much attention to detail in their press kit and promotional efforts as they have put into recording Until the Stars Align, this band will do great things! If you are with an independent record label (or for that matter a major record label), it would be well worth the effort to woo this group! They are going places!

I will wrap this review up with one simple reiteration. I love this CD! Buy two copies! One for you, and another for a friend! They will thank you profusely!--Mark Lush, Midwestbands.com, 6/22/03 - Mark Lush, Midwestbands.com