Settle - At Home We Are Tourists

Genre indie-pop Publisher Epitaph External Links Settle MySpace

Settle has just released their interesting and cohesive debut, At Home We Are Tourists through Epitaph Records. Settle is reminiscent of 30H!3 at times, as well as Depeche Mode, as they incorporate pop with indie rock. Even if you think you may have heard something like this before, it is still worth listening. With influences such as Elvis Costello, and drawing inspiration from outlandish pop culture, Settle’s first full length album combines irony with exuberance, and I fully applaud their enthusiasm.

Settle seems hell bent on everyone catching their drift. Through their music, they mix pop with rock in the simplest form. Produced by Adam Lasus (Helium, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) and mixed by Ken Andrews (Jimmy Eat World, BRMC), Tourists looks ready to tackle the current indie pop scene with fervor. After five years of rewriting, revising, and revisiting, Settle has most likely accomplished everything that they set out to do with this album. The album’s 12 tracks range from indie rockers to synth-laden cavalcades that are alternatively emotional and premeditated. Settle frivolously crosses several genre borders in an effort to boost their awesome points, and while they succeed at times, at others they come just short.

For being a debut album, it is entertaining, and somewhat unique. Unfortunately, the albums "cool factor" has a limited amount of time. Maybe it’s the been done before or just hasn’t been done right, but At Home We Are Tourists also seems like it would be hard to follow up. They would either have to go in a new direction, or come out with a follow up of similar and outdone tracks. However, that just means that this one is essentially the “Office Space” of the indie music world.

Standout tracks include the reminiscent “On the Prowl,” and the evocative “Naked at a Family Function.” By far, the most interesting and exhilarating track is “I Saw an Inferno Once.” Each individual song has seems to have its own individual world. In any case, this Eastern Pennsylvania foursome has created one standout debut. At times, it seems like a classic, and at others, it seems like it’s too much for the current time. Either way, Tourists could be the perfect album to bring Settle to successful mainstream prominence.