Take Cover

Pop rock is a sim­ple genre. The instru­men­tal com­plex­i­ties exhib­ited in metal scenes, and the lyri­cal inge­nu­ities divulged by indie scenes are prefer­able but not required. For an aspir­ing pop rock band, your pri­or­i­ties are hooks, hooks, and more hooks. That’s where Take Cover come in – the Minnesota quin­tet have spent their two years of exis­tence craft­ing enthu­si­as­tic, heart­felt and always excit­ing pop rock songs.

With the pur­pose of pleas­ing fans, Take Cover’s lat­est release Waiting In The Moment show­cases the band in both past, present and future forms. Acoustic ver­sions of “Resolution” and “The Last Word” sim­ply appear as stripped down ver­sions of the orig­i­nals, found on 2009’s enthralling The Last Word EP. Excitement dimin­ishes with the less­ened pace, and the songs pro­vide a pleas­ant vari­a­tion to the orig­i­nals - but not an alter­na­tive. However, the real inter­est lies within new songs “Waiting In The Moment” and “The Leaves Will Change”. The title track fea­tures guest vocals from local female vocal­ist Liz Akhavan, and with emo­tive lyrics and immac­u­late vocal har­monies, the song resem­bles Boys Like Girls’ “Two Is Better Than One”, with­out the super­flu­ous pro­duc­tion. However, the EP’s prized pos­ses­sion is piano bal­lad “The Leaves Will Change”, with exquis­itely lin­ger­ing vocals, and con­fi­dent, per­spec­tive lyrics impressing.

While Waiting In The Moment is essen­tially an acoustic EP with the main goal of hold­ing fans over, it pro­vides an impres­sive insight into Take Cover’s music. They dis­play both poten­tial and ver­sa­til­ity with their acoustic attempts, but their true forte is the fast paced pop rock song. Take Cover are sim­ply wait­ing in the moment to get signed. - Rinse Review Repeat

The Last Word is a small four track EP from Minneapolis’ own Take Cover. This pop rock band specialises in a heartfelt brand of music modest in nature but large in impact. Take Cover plays tracks from an underdog’s stand point, which gives rise to hope and sincerity that quickly wins over listeners. While they may not seem especially original on paper, after a quick listen of The Last Word, I found them to put a pleasant spin on hashed and reused themes of girls and romance. Most importantly the serious undertone that highlights the lyrics is also reinforced in their sound. Therefore the finished product is a rugged and hardier pop rock, good for repeat listens and a longer lasting experience.

The first thing I noticed about Take Cover, is their very familiar vocals. At times Take Cover sounds very similar to Patrick Stump of FOB, whom I always thought had great vocals despite the lack of band appeal. Take Cover’s sound commands attention, it is edgy yet still sensitive enough to relate to listeners. The Whole Story for example, has an aggressive and catchy chorus, but is accompanied with a lot inspirational tidbits that listeners will eat up. With lines like “I wish you could see me now, because I’m doing it for myself,” it is an inspiring listen despite its reoccurring theme. I thought the melody wasn’t anything special, a little more aggressive than most pop rock sounds, and quite vibrant and full but again, it’s the vocals that pushes the song in the right direction. The vocal melody is fantastic and catchy, and is the glue behind the feel-good inspirational feelings that are emitted from this song.

Followed up by Resolution, this is where Take Cover really begins to use some rather cliché themes. “I’ll make a resolution remind me to forget you,” a song about forgetting a girl, not a positive attribute, but I can deal. To their credit, the lyrics are far more superior compared to the average pop rock song about a girl, and that’s really a testament to their maturity, which is also evident in their sound. There’s a couple of standing points that made this song amazing for me. The first is the a capella introduction that initiates the clever and exciting vocal melody. I thought it was very well done overall. Secondly, there were spots of quick falsettos that were a nice touch to an otherwise good song. These small elements combined to produce an even better sound, and a very complete pop rock track at that.

The EP also consists of tracks Escape Artist and The Last Word. Escape Artist is much more gritty and aggressive in the beat and vocals. I thought the lyrics also reflected this new pace and had an interesting theme. Finally The Last Word was more of the same honest music, a little emo, and a little hopeful all at the same time. I can’t pinpoint it exactly but there’s something about Take Cover that I can relate to, yet they still supply a high demanding and energetic performance. Their main stream themes, combined with their aggressive style of play and maturity makes for some serious hits. Take Cover is definitely worth checking out at the very least, it may not wow you, but it’s a good listen first and foremost. - AW Music

Interview at Angels & Kings in NYC with Inklings.tv - inklings.tv

Check out our interview on Fearless Radio from June 2010 - Fearless Radio