piebald

we are the only friends we have

'If the name Piebald means anything at all to you, you know that it is rare for the band to put out any substandard songs. There latest offering, "We are the Only Friends We Have" does not stray from that norm.

If the name does not mean anything to you, then this might just be a record that would be worthy to be a part of any collection. Piebald is a band of wonderful geeks from Massachusetts. Armed with an undying wit and a penchant for arena rock, they continually fine-tune their formula in the quest for musical supremacy.  The only obstacle holding the band back from ruling the underground rock world would be Travis Shettel's voice. It's hit or miss with the audience, a reason to either love or hate the band.

With each passing album, Travis's voice has progressively gotten stronger. Unfortunately, the ware and tear of the road and recording cause a bit too much of a strain on Travis's voice. He recently underwent surgery on his throat.

Piebald is a band paying constant homage to their personal rock gods of Van Halen. "We are the Only Friends We Have" fits in line with the band's catalogue. It is packed with loud guitars that scream their solos ("Fear and Loathing on Cape Cod) and run the length of marathon octaves ("Long Nights"). It is rock with an indie background, somewhat similar to Saves the Day, The Getup Kids, and A Newfound Glory, but it does so much more too.

This album expands upon their typical formula to include small horn parts and even a chorus of singing school children.

Piebald songs usually hit one of two extremes. Either they touch on issues affecting social consciousness and justice ("American Hearts," "The Monkey versus the Robot") or they are downright clever and humorous ("Sex Sells and (Unfortunately) I'm Buying," or their first full length album "If it wasn't for Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains for Us All"). No matter which angle the band takes, though, they do it well.

Overall, this is one of their best productions to date. It is well written and well produced. The only low point is the first song, "King of the World" which sounds too much like one of their earlier songs, "The Rock Revolution Will Not be Televised." Actually, this album contains the song "American Hearts" which was originally released on "The Rock Revolution."

The best tracks on this album are "Just a Simple Plan," "The Monkey versus the Robot," and "Look, I Just Don't Like You."