Artist: Settle
Album: At Home We Are Tourists

There’s a point and time in my life when I have flashes and occurrences of when great bands are on the forefront. Who’s going to be successful in a year is quite ominous. It is all “Hit or Miss” as New Found Glory so regularly states. The first attempt from the Eaton, Pennsylvania, group named Settle has unfortunately not delivered that certain flash of greatness for me to grasp. I thought this CD, At Home We Are Tourists, could contain so much more substance and versatility than what is displayed on this new endeavor. It falls short of being interesting and proves again that creativity is truly what you make it.

The first track “Grand Marshall’s Mooncloth Robes” starts of with an Irish drinking song feel to it. The chorus has a gang-vocal effect to it making it feel impersonal and rebellious. The downfall was that this song has little substance making it very dry and repetitive. This song selection wasn’t a good choice to start of Settle’s debut for their launch track. The second track “Naked at a Family Function” is much better and has a Silversun Pickups-kind-of-vibe to it which I appreciate. There is also a cool breakdown at the end to finish off this good selection.

The track that originally got me into this band was, “Murder”, a track that we at Under The Gun placed on our Building A Better Scene Vol. 2 disc. It is highly infectious and definitely leaves me wanting more from the following track. Settle, to my dismay, follows with “Sunday Morning After”. An acoustic dream-state of mind tone with a somber spirit and creepy whistling mixed in for not-so-good measure. This was a perfect way to squash the high spirit from the gem which was “Murder.” The last half of the CD from “On the Prowl” until the last song “Into the Minds of Those Who Commit Desperate Acts While Under the Influence of Others” are the same lackluster compilations from the first half.

It is quite ironic that their name is Settle coming from the fact that they have had a few line-up changes in their day. Besides that, their vocal aspect appears to be their weakest link. Sadly, there’s nothing special to Nick Rose’s voice. Listen to the CD for a couple tracks and I dare you to find variation or tonal color to his delivery. As you can obviously tell I am confused and disappointed by this CD. I felt like the drum parts could have been less clichéd. The one aspect that I feel carries this group is the guitar work. Including the rapid chord changes to keep you guessing there are some slow and more melodic places that capture the listener for brief stints.

Overall, despite how many copies of their past songs and two self-released EP’s they have sold Settle really doesn’t capture the essence of a true band. Let’s just leave it at this; their portfolio is easily imitated and has been by other bands before them. Ultimately, this CD will come and go without much fanfare. My recommendation is to settle on something with a little more flair, texture and substance.

Written by Grant Trimboli
5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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