QUARTERBACKS isn’t going to pummel you. Well maybe with all the nostalgia they might. From New Platz, New York, the three piece band has released their self-titled debut album. It’s a mix of daydreamed scenarios and brief relationships. Not to mention, the songs on this album are really short. 19 tracks in Twenty-two minutes!
QUARTERBACKS starts off with “Usual,” which has a solid intro. Songwriter Dean Engle sings, “But here I am again/ Outside your door / Predictably yours.” Right off the bat, it’s all about love. Yet another infatuated adventure. Lyrically, it’s a simple e arrangement of words. However, the fast paced twee-pop sound is catchy; making up for minor bumps in the road.
You get tracks such as “Not In Luv,” and “Center,” in which members, Max Restaino and Tom Christie, show a nice handle on rhythm. “Center,” slows down halfway through and it’s borderline provocative. Engle adds a little charm to these his lyrics; softly singing, “Because there’s such/ Relief in coincidence/ A universe that finally works/ How you always suspected.” You feel something in the last minute.
So you have a “Not in Luv,” song and then a “Stay In Luv,” song here. Pretty quirky. This one’s half the length (fifty-one seconds total) and it’s as if Engle took every word he could fit in and rolled fast with it.
Now I’m not very unfamiliar with sports. I don’t know basketball teams, but I must say that I really enjoy the “Knicks,” because of its imagery and place on the album. I adore the intro. You hear the desire in Engle’s voice and then you’re “pretending” you don’t miss anyone. The instrumentation in the background is sublime. Really chill—yes. It’s super short—fifty-six seconds (that’s it) and it makes you crave for more. Begging for more. This song could’ve went farther. Still a good turnout.
The shortest song on QUARTERBACKS is “The Dogs.” Twenty-eight seconds. A mere 28. Engle retells the story of a man with two puppies on his lap. I’m still processing. “Sportscenter,” a little indie jam rapidly conveying an adolescent evening; also leaves me in a weird place.
The majority of the songs on QUARTERBACKS are about love and its idiosyncrasies. And within the last thirteen seconds of “Never Go,” you get a fresh spin. It’s a goodt track; Engle’s vocals are great and that brief change in rhythm is surprising, but I want it to last longer. Had QUARTERBACKS kept going in that direction they could’ve flourished into undiscovered territory.
Overall, the songs present are charmingly naive. They sound close to being complete thoughts, but lack detail that comes from lengthening out your songs. Not a bad debut. There are scenarios described here that most of us went through–wishing we didn’t. Perhaps in a few years, Engle and his mates will discover untold stories and come back with a mastered twee pop-punk sound. We’ll be patiently waiting.
Rating: 3/5