A Chinese Restaurant - My Dearest I Cannot Speak

Let me just start by saying that as far as minority food groups go, Chinese is probably my favorite. So it may have been my stomach that induced me to check out A Chinese Restaurant's album, 'My Dearest I Cannot Speak' (it certainly wasn't the album title...), but if so, thank you stomach, I can temporarily forgive you for being a slight bit too... 3D.

A Chinese Restaurant is made up of three guys from Germany that like to rock out, and occasionally scream. Normally, I don't dig screaming too much. It's acceptable once in a while, but only if the person has a good voice for it, and it's not used in excess, which pretty much describes the vocalist of ACR's penchant for using it. This is the first thing that caught my attention, because the fact that they're screaming indicates that the music will likely be of a certain genre, one that I've long watched from afar, but have never been able to really sink my teeth into. So the fact that ACR is in a way opening up the door to "hardcore" music for me, if only a little bit wider, makes me happy.

One of the first things I thought when I listened to them was how much of a shame it is these guys weren't around about five years ago when this genre was sorta finding its footing, because I really think they would've torn shit up. A cool thing about this debut cd is the fact that you get a sense of naiveté, a certain type of musical innocence from these guys that really is charming, or at least as charming as screaming can be. It's a quality that has found many bands writing their best, most inspired music; Brand New's 'Your Favorite Weapon' comes to mind.

Upon first listen, I thought the first few songs sounded too alike, but as I moved toward the end of the album, the songs really started to vary. After my second listen, that notion faded completely. The songs take a few listens to appreciate the subtle differences as well as the larger ones, but the subtle things that ACR does are one of the biggest reasons I keep coming back and listening to this album, whether it's the slightly different way the guitarist voices the chords than expected, the drummer's penchant for mixing up beats when they seem like they should be more consistent, unexpected rhythmic change-ups, it just keeps me coming back for more. It's impressive that there's only three people in the band, because the music sounds really full and each instrument seems to make good use of its place instead of staying in the background. The fact that the guitarist's distortion sounds like Ben Kenney's on The Division Group's 'Apples and Oranges' EP certainly doesn't hurt, either.

Though I made a lot of mention about screaming, it's important to note that not every song has it. The band balances a good mix of hardcore, screamo, and pop-punk that will likely satisfy multiple demographics with ease. They even have an electronica song in the form of 'Broken Hearts and Picture Frames (thankfully not as lame as its title would suggest), which is probably my favorite on the album, though it's hard to pick just one. The singer's voice at times recalls Bert McCracken's, and a few times sounds a bit whiny, but I'm personally attributing this to his Germanity. Not a word? Whatev.

While, for me, this is an almost perfect album, there are a few things that detract from the quality. First, in some songs, the vocals aren't mixed loud enough. Doesn't make the songs any worse, though. Secondly, some of the lyrics aren't exactly noteworthy, like when he screams "I'm So Sorry!" at the beginning of 'Sorries (The City Sleeps Nightly). Although, I don't know what I was expecting after their myspace informed me that the lyrics are about "Life, love, hate, and friendship." Classic young people material. That's about it as far as negative aspects go. The most important thing to say is that this band is making me excited about music again, in the way that you just can't wait to show everybody you know their music. Overall, this is a band with a ton of potential. It's slightly disappointing that their debut album is only 8 songs, and some of them end a bit abruptly, but the potential still shines through. I'm eagerly awaiting the next release, though I'll probably be waiting quite some time.

6/7