The Axe That Chopped The Cherry Tree

“...This is The Axe That Chopped the Cherry Tree, a powerful mixture of genre-defying music combining elements of electronica and hardcore. The uniqueness of the band’s sound has drawn attention from music fans on the lookout for something different. The band finds motivation not only in being different in the music itself, but in the message the band carries….The stir created by the band is more than justified. Far from submitting to a traditional format, the band brings something fresh to the world of music….In an era where bands emerge and disappear at a dizzying rate, the Greeley-based rockers are here to stay….The band members are determined to do what they believe in.” - The Greeley Tribune

Colorado quintet are impossibly young, only finding time to record ‘Don't Step In The Lightning’ between college classes. They did it without any big name guests or a penny of record company cash too. Throw in the fact that they appear to not care about scene points, friend counts or their own health and safety and it’s even more surprising that they’ve gone and nailed it first time out….It’s not hardcore that The Axe deal in, it’s far too fun for that. It’s not pop punk either; there’s more smarts here than any band singing about ex-girlfriends ever had. It’s like the band have taken the blistering machine noise of The Albatross or Horse The Band and ironed out the scratchy kinks. It sounds like Motion City Soundtrack with an incurable attitude problem or The Kinison on real shitty drugs. It’s got an explosive feel to it but it’s imbued with a real sense that this band is going to stick around….Opener ‘Sandcastles On Glass Shores’ is rammed with enough barbed hooks for a whole Fall Out Boy album and might also be the first time a keyboard has been used to make up a breakdown. ‘Night Light’ rivals the entire post-rock set for delicate melancholy, and ‘Privates In Public’ could be the catchiest tune you’ll hear all year. Not that it matters, you’ll have a new favourite each week on this ridiculously infectious record. It’s gripping, intelligent, imaginative and refreshing stuff and it all adds up to one of the most original and exciting debuts in years. - Simon T Diplock, Moderate Rock Reviews

CD REVIEW: The Axe That Chopped The Cherry Tree, Moon. Window. Water.<BR>by Patrick Scriven - LIFEspot presents<BR><BR>Up until last week, my favorite album from a Denver area band was The Photo Atlas' No, Not Me, Never, which is deservedly being re-released by the Stolen Transmissions label. Alternative Press recently reviewed the Photo Atlas' album (a very good review, by the way) and made the following remark about the Denver scene: "If Denver produced more groups like this instead of packs of screeching 19 year olds with Underoath fetishes, the Colorado music scene might have a more prevalent place on the map." (AP, Feb. '07)<BR><BR>It would be hard for me to argue with any credibility against the point that there are too many bands that sound too much alike in the local scene. But at the same time, as much as I like the Photo Atlas' album, it didn't really strike me, for better or worse, as THE Denver album. In contrast, the new disc by The Axe That Chopped The Cherry Tree, Moon. Window. Water., seems to epitomize many of the best elements of the local scene, including the Atlas. They scream, they rock and they groove; a dangerous fusion of what everybody else is doing that ends up sounding like something nobody is doing.<BR><BR>Fans of The Axe will recognize a few of the tracks. Sandcastles on Glass Shores and Night. Light. reappear rerecorded and reworked. The former is greatly improved while the latter struck me as overproduced. Some of the new tracks will also be familiar to those who have attended recent shows. (de)vice is a catchy, dancy number that should continue to earn them new listeners as the parts clash and build to repeated euphoric crescendos. My Drink of Choices is also well constructed and grows on you with repeated listens. A Brain of Pins and Needles begins with a chugging guitar riff that seems torn straight from the 80's before the band slaps it around, throws a creepy Dracula-esque chorus on it and makes it their own.<BR><BR>Most bands seem to fill the second half of their disc with filler that can only be tolerated once or twice. In contrast, Dots and Dashes is a strange construction of pace changes that is as danceable as anything on the album. While White and Blue starts off with a great synth line but never seems to get anywhere; they should be applauded for resisting an easy formulaic solution. Despite it being my least favorite song, it displays a growth and willingness to experiment and is at the very least a decent change of pace. <BR><BR>The Axe closes Moon. Window, Water. with the compelling Black Box. When talking to the lead singer, Daniel, about the album, it was obvious how proud he was not just of the music but of the story. Although it would be so much easier to pick this up if screaming wasn't so damn hard to decipher (they are included below), there is an art to the albums lyrics, their repetition, and the stories conveyed of life and meaning. While it is easy to see a degree of religiosity in some of their songs, it is open-ended and universal enough to provide meaning and connection for a variety of people, religiously affiliated or not.<BR><BR>I mentioned at the beginning of my review that The Photo Atlas had earned a spot at the top of my local music collection. The Axe has successfully knocked that album down a notch. If this disc can help to get them noticed perhaps it will also help a small-minded AP reviewer to recognize that the Denver scene has more to offer than he might expect. While I'm not sure if The Axe has an Underoath fetish, I do know their 'screeching' is capable of blowing the Atlas's "paranoid and desperate danceability" out of the water. Where is the coast guard, indeed. <BR> - Patrick Scriven, Lifespot Presents