Andrew J. Cantwell, who we can pretty safely say is Australia’s HIGHROAD NO. 28, seems to be quite a fan of late 80s/early 90s alternative and does the best he can to cram all his influences into one disc. In “Unsteady and Steady State” you’re going to hear a familiar sounding dry guitar tone (SONIC YOUTH) with a familiar driving riff style (DIG) that at times also nods to the really heavy 90s alternative (DEFTONES) that can either be really happy with hand claps and jovial female back-up (R.E.M) or make you want to slit your wrists (THE CURE). From reading Mr. Cantwell’s lyrics and bio, it’s also clear how seriously he takes his music and how badly he wants to deliver a worthy artistic statement. However, with this disc comes a severe clash of styles as pop rock battles with dark alternative, leaving “Unsteady and Steady State” sounding, um, unsteady.

First of all, a big deterrence for me is Mr. Cantwell’s vocals. Unlike, for instance, Blackie Lawless and Mikael Akerfeldt, he doesn’t display much ability to self-harmonize his vocals. He has trouble staying in tune and unless he highly distorts his voice it really takes you out of the experience. Second, although the synth adds a nice dimension to the dry guitar sound, it can also be overpowering, particularly on “Weird Guy” (track 3). Also, the fake drums have got to go. I understand that Mr. Cantwell wants to remain in complete control of his project (and hell, I’d probably be the same way), but in order to do what’s best for his music he does need to realize his limitations. I mean, you can hire a session drummer down under, right?

I’d miss a huge point if I didn’t also add that this album doesn’t really come to fruition until quite late into it. “Awkward Kid” is a fine song that showcases how insightful and skillful Mr. Cantwell’s songwriting can be. The aforementioned CURE influence is really showcased on this song and the also aforementioned female vocals are reduced to the word “pain” repeated over and over again. Yikes. For that matter, the guitar layering in “1000+ Faces” and dark groove in “Laughtear” are also worth noting. The influences really start coming together here for the first time and it really makes me wonder what the hell he was doing the first half of the album, because I feel that these songs are what Mr. Cantwell really wants to be doing and in my opinion needs to focus on.

I’d like to see what Mr. Cantwell can come up with in the future after ironing out the kinks in his songwriting and approach, because there is quite a bit of potential here. For now, though, there are just too many kinks that need to be ironed out before I can wholeheartedly recommend these guys… er, guy.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.highroadno28.com

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