Album: The Draft - In A Million Pieces
In May 2005, American punk band Hot Water Music announced they were taking a break. Three of it’s members went on to form The Draft, recruiting a new guitarist. In their biography they stress they are a new band, and not Hot Water Music playing under a new name. In A Million Pieces is their debut album.
It starts off pretty ok with New Eyes Open, a rock song with a bite. It’s very well structured and you will be able to sing along with the chorus after two listens. Overall, this goes for most of the album; these guys are definitely not newbies when it comes to making records. They are all good musicians that know what they are doing. It gets a little boring here and there though, lyricwise. Especially in Wired, which I tend to skip.
The Draft’s influences include Coheed and Cambria, Jimmy Eat World, NOFX and The Beach Boys. This unusual combination ensures a mixture of styles on the album. All We Can Count On is a slower and more melodic track, for example. Part of the record still refers to the band’s punkrock past, like Longshot and Not What I Wanna Do. Out Of Tune is more rock, with a killer guitar solo.
Verdict: A couple of songs are definitely stronger than the rest. An okay album, but it seems the band is still looking for the right style of music.