Aiken, South Carolina band, Afteralice is made up of Steven Fennell (Producer, Arranger, Drummer, Manager) and Jason Crowden (Songwriter, Vocals, Guitars, Engineer). The two who have worked on solo project and with other bands, started recording together soon after they met as they both felt that Afteralice would be the project that would go well beyond anything they had accomplished thus far.
It’s a miracle that in this day and age – where the modern rock landscape has been reduced to wimps, posers, infuriating radio saturation, and talentless talent show crowd hacks – Afteralice has managed to put out songs of surging, rollicking, genuine good-old rock and roll. Steven Fennell and Jason Crowden encompasses all that is sorely lacking from today’s “rock” – passion, emotion, energy, and kick-ass guitars – not to mention actual talent. Jason is a great vocalist, and he fits perfectly with the music here, which alternates between mid to up-tempo, energetic rockers like “Yo Mama”, “Love It”, “99 Gold”, “British” and “Chump” as well as slow, heartfelt ballads like “Mourning Acoustic”.
These songs showcase Afteralice’s emotional side, and prove that they can write great music at both fast and slow tempos. Most of their songs tears out of the gate – turbocharged and catchy rocker without ever letting up. Bottom line: Afteralice is a fantastic, high-spirited combination and a welcome return to the high-energy rock of yesteryear – filling their music with powerful melodies, full-on harmonies and anthemic choruses.
Afteralice brings the listener back to the roots of why we like rock music in the first place. Jason Crowden cranks out lyrics like a power saw hitting a tree – strong, clear, and tapping into all sorts of topics. The band hammers through the songs with the guitars setting a furious crossfire rage and Steven Fennell’s drums banging, knocking and punching a serpentine path down the spine right to the sling of your balls. But right up in front of all this power lays the sweet melodic twist which gives this band their catchy edge.
Soaring, almost power pop melodies, straddle urgent, sometimes dirty rock rhythms that drive, meander, and expand into more complex arrangements with multiple tempo changes. In short, there isn’t a lot of rock music that really gets me excited anymore. There are lots of great songs out there today, but too many of the bands seem interchangeable and as a result disposable.
They have been likened to some modern-day bands, but for me Afteralice has a classic sound and they seem to have great chemistry between them. Their music could step out of the eighties, into the nineties, and anywhere on the timeline in the new millennium and it would still sound great and relevant. Their skills harken back to the legendary classic rock bands of the past.
If you have to, close your eyes and pretend that you don’t know who’s playing – spread out across these tracks you’ll hear traces of Foreigner, Kansas, Bad Company, Mr. Mister, Whitesnake, Rainbow, and the list could go on and on. Strong melodies, solid guitar riffs, kick ass drumming, and vocals that few front men can match – Afteralice bring that all back to the here and now!
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