Continuing on the theme of music from 2007 that rocked, but which I never found the time or space to write about: today’s entry is Holy Roman Empire, who bear a striking resemblance to Paramore, who I talked about last week. These folks focus a little bit more on the punk and a little less on the pop, but it’s based on the same general premise that there are few things more enticing than female vocals on top of crunchy guitars playing catchy melodies.
Undeserving You – Holy Roman Empire
“Undeserving You” is the best track, and also probably the most pop-driven tune on the record. Dig a little deeper, though, and the music will get more aggressive, providing a nice change of pace.
The balance between bouncing tunes and straightforward rock is a tough one to maintain – it risks slipping into bubblegum pop-punk on one side or acerbic hardcore on the other. They suffer a few mis-steps trying to walk this line, but on the whole manage to produce a very fine little record. You definitely get the sense that Holy Roman Empire think of themselves as a hardcore band who deigns to write a nice melody now and again, so if that’s your bag you might not consider them mis-steps at all.
The album is called The Longue Duree (eMusic) and it’s well worth a listen.