Voted Down

Voted Down – “Passive Aggressive”: The raw and sometimes shrill vocals of singer Chelsea McClain are complimented well by guitarist Alexander Oakley, who lends vocals reminiscent of the cleans heard on Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’s newer albums. Gritty southern rock vocals. This song has a very distinct melody too. This band would fit in with noise rock and southern rock bands alike in a live setting. Also, I think this hook will be in my head for awhile. - Ryan Getz - TUNED UP

Voted Down starts off their 6 track album with a bang. Alex Oakley lends a vocal reminiscent of Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon, and the addition of Chelsea McClain’s passionate roars synergize well with the sheer level of aggression in the sound. I debated dubbing the chorus of Track 1, “Passive Aggressive” as “catchy,” but such a label would be a vast understatement to the level of earworminess that the track provides—its chorus rivals that of Blur’s “Song 2” for its level of replay value. The guitar playing from Oakley serves its purpose at providing rapid fire riffs that work in tandem with the fast paced drums to evoke great energy to start the album off.
Track 3, “Solace” is the moment in which Perseverance may lose some people—the core aspects that are meant to be appreciated in the next two songs are completely different from those at the start of the album. The fast paced, high tempo aggression that captivates me in the first two tracks is replaced with some far slower, mid-tempo tracks that display McClain’s dark, rich vocal. Coming off of the raw, less accurate notes in the first two tracks, it is astounding to see just how versatile Voted Down can be. The selling point for this section of the album is the Joan Jet-like raspiness and myriad textures in McClain’s vocal, and while it impresses me, it is so fundamentally different from the first section that it may cause some to eagerly skip to the fifth track. I happen to enjoy these sections of slower tempos though, hence the strong listening recommendation that I have given this album.
The only criticism that I have for Perseverance is that it may borrow a little too much from its punk predecessors—it is nigh impossible to listen to some of Voted Down’s earlier tracks without drawing a comparison to Sex Pistols. From the aggressive guitar and drums, to the anti-authority inspired lyrics, the similarities are certainly evident. That being said, McClain’s added vocal, along with a modern spin on the guitar playing is enough for me to make the distinction between Sex Pistols Inspired and Sex Pistols Rip-off. Besides, the shift in tone in tracks 3, 4, and 6 are so vastly different from the rest of the album that it is difficult to label the project as anything other than unique in its design.
Perseverance eventually returns to its more aggressive roots with Track 5, “No Sacrifices,” which maintains a high level of energy, despite not having a chorus that is as engaging as those of the first two tracks. As a final middle finger to consistency, the final track shadows the tone of the more mid-tempo tracks and ends the album with a lower energy than that with which it started. Perseverance feels like two separate albums spliced into one, which means that there is a greater chance of someone heavily disliking one of the two distinct styles. That being said, the energy that is emitted in tracks 1, 2 and 5 is astounding, while the vocals in tracks 3, 4, and 6 radiate a passion that is nigh unheard of in the alternative punk scene. If one keeps an open mind when listening to it, this album has the potential to truly amaze. - Adrian Bambace - 24ourmusic.net