Ever Burning Bright – Against All Odds

By Ryan G

Reviewing a fresh-faced band – not to the national scene, but to an audience in general is always a daunting task. You want to encourage their passion while giving constructive criticism that doesn’t turn off readers new to the group from checking them out. Ever Burning Bright, a group of friends from Columbus is a hard hitting alternative rock group with a sound simultaneously poised for radio and influenced by several female fronted radio rock groups. Sidenote – I feel weird typing female fronted. There is somewhat of a stereotypical sound that comes with this descriptor (I wonder why this is so) and Ever Burning Bright falls into this paradigm.

Ever Burning Bright knows how to write killer riffs – this is the most readily apparent thing to me. A riff in the bridge of “The Arsonist” reminds me a bit of “The Flame in All of Us” by Thousand Foot Krutch, bringing me a nice nostalgia vibe. It is these more low-tuned riffs that complement Courtney Ball’s vocals the best. A little tweaking in the production, and this could be a really killer sounding record. But that’s just my preference.

“Sticks and Stones” is the best song on the record in my opinion, and significantly elevated my regard for this band after hearing first single “The Arsonist” which, while catchy and driving, doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Despite the hard hitting message of the song, “Sticks and Stones” has kind of a summery, arena rock vibe that I dig. Aaron Dill does a great job of pulling forth years of influences in his guitar work – the tone in the bridge of the song brings “Connected” by Means (a now defunct Facedown Records) to mind. The real feels hold off til “Citadels,” the closing song of the EP. It’s a marked juxtaposition to the adrenaline inducing intro into “The Fall Out.” Predictable, maybe. But fun, nonetheless. Ever Burning Bright isn’t seeking to reinvent the wheel. They are plainly a group of friends who grew up on a certain sound of music that inspired them to take hold of it and make their own. And in a world where the gaps between sounds are narrowing by the second, this ain’t a bad thing!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbpSbfTqNM4[/youtube]