I have a thing for anything Long Island. I love the music, the food, the culture and the people. So when I have an opportunity to review an artist from Long Island, I get excited.
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to An Evening With, a new Long Island band that focuses on rock, pop and pop-punk. An Evening With really stuck out. I enjoyed the music. It was right in line with what I like to listen to. I think the band could easily be heard on Alt Nation on Sirius/XM.
An Evening With consists of Jay Alexander (vocals), Mario Mendoza (guitar, vox), ReDi (drums), Mike DiRoma (guitar, vox) and Adam Pallack (bass, vox). All are from the Moriches on Long Island, New York. Jay Alexander started the band and then the others joined in after. The band members are young, have high energy and a great sound.
When you listen to the album, Cruel Intentions, you can tell the Fall Out Boys, Blink-182 and Boys Like Girls influenced the band. The music is tight and stirs up positive energy.
Cruel Intentions is the band’s first full length debut album and was released in October 2009. To date, the band has more than 25,000 downloads on iTunes, Napster, and Purevolume. The album was recorded and produced by Rob Freeman of Hidden in Plainview, New York. Freeman has also recorded artists like, Hit the Lights, Cobra Starship, and Armor For Sleep.
The first song on the album, "Forever Young," draws you in like a good book. Some of the songs, like "Invincible" and "Hearts on Fire," start off slow and acoustic and one may think they will be mellow, but when the entire band chimes in with their electric guitars, it’s high energy all the way. You can’t help but bop your head to the music.
I’m impressed with the whole band but in particular ReDi, the drummer, who keeps the beat going strong throughout the entire album. I also really enjoyed listening to Jay Alexander and the rest of the guys on vocals. Their voices sounded good together.
My favorite song on the album is "Luck & Cruel Intentions." It reminds me of a cross between My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park. It starts off as a new age sound and then triumphs with a hard rock sound. Songs like this get me moving!
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