Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Intercept's latest release shows two sides

Catherine Couretas, Editor in Chief

After I listened to the first two tracks on Symphony for Somebody Else, "Made to Fall" and "Rest of My Days," I immediately began to chat with a friend on Facebook about this awesome new band he needed to listen to.

I'd call them a newer, more mellow version of Spitalfield — a band this guy digs. He'd never heard of Intercept, but told me to hold that thought until I listened through the whole album, in the meantime asking me questions I couldn't answer because I'd just been introduced to them.

It was a good thing I waited, because it turns out they definitely weren't his cup of tea.

I started perusing the Web and came across their MySpace, which I found slightly shocking. Looking like it was created 5 or more years ago, I wasn't sure what to think (you know, with the still photo awkwardly placed in the background and the black text that's sometimes difficult to read because of it?) because the album looked so professional and put together. Those first two songs made up for it, though.

Turns out, only one additional song on the album actually resembled the first two. "So Say Whatever" also grabbed my attention, but the others had more of a country-esque vibe. It was different and I felt like they belonged on a different album. I could tell it was all the same band, but it didn't feel like the same album. It was like I had two CDs playing and it would sporadically jump back and forth between them.

I wasn't as big of a fan of those other songs, but those original three really stood out as a sound Intercept should work with and develop more. Bands who hit it big do so because fans like their sound. When bands (let's take Coldplay, for example) release different albums with completely different sounds, listeners notice and pick a favorite. Maybe it was good that Intercept experimented like this because they'll be able to gather a larger following, but it will definitely be interesting to hear future material and see if they take a specific path.

Oh, and I'd suggest they update their MySpace. Stat. Because that makes a HUGE difference in how people view bands. A less professional look means they may not be taken as seriously. Take the hint from layouts like those of We Came As Romans (myspace.com/wecameasromans), a more complex, detailed look to that of Breathe Carolina (myspace.com/breathecarolina), where one main photo at the top makes a huge difference.


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