Nightmare of You - Nightmare of You

Genre rock Publisher East West External Links Official Nightmare Of You Website Official East West Website

"I always judge a book by its cover," Stephen Colbert.

If I would have judged this self-titled album from Nightmare of You, I might be tempted to write this band off as some sort of Goth-Glam Myspace regurgitation. And, foolishly, I did just that for about two weeks (actually 6 months, just ask his editor) until I finally bought an iPod (won it online) and decided to load it up just for the hell of it (his editor was getting pissed). Well, I have to say, sometimes I even second guess myself - I was WAY off on these guys.

After listening to the first track "The Days Go By Oh So Slow," I completely changed my shallow mind. And since I am infallible, I was never wrong anyway (he shouldn't have eaten that bbq shrimp though). I Digress.

Now, upon a second look at their pink-flowery album cover, engraved in white cursive with the title/band name, I am actually delighted. Listening to the sharp, poppy tracks on the album consisting of 11 songs which actually respect the dynamics of melody, I immediately thought of The Smiths and The Cure (seriously, he's not saying that just to sound cool or to get chicks). You know them; two bands that manage to be gnarly without blowing your eardrums out and knocking you over. That's how this album sounds; gnarly in its own clever way ("Heaven" indeed "Runs On Oil"!).

But wait! How could these veterans of Long Island underground and hardcore scenes write clever, Morrissey-esque lyrics with the bounciness of a Robert Smith rhythm track you ask? Brandon Reilly (the Movielife), Joseph McCaffrey, Ryan Heil and Sammy Seigler (Glassjaw, CIV) don't really seem to give a crap about your questions. They are just a bunch of punkers rocking out, probably making fun of you without you even knowing it ("Dear scene, I wish I were deaf..."). Not me though, I'm pretty cool (as cool as Zima). I get it. And I dig it. (He's pretty fly for a white guy.)