Thirteen Yards To Victory - Feudal Efforts Make Futile Friends
A young band from Massachusetts, Thirteen Yards To Victory may not be veterans of the music scene but are definitely making the first leap to make their mark. The full-length “Feudal Efforts Make Futile Friends,” released in December ‘06, is that first give-it-all-we-got effort.
My first impression when the intro track was over and “Fall of Prospero” was blasting was that the vocals reminded me a lot of My American Heart. Backup vocals comprised mostly of stressed screams and shouts add a more emotional, dynamic sound to the band’s sound. The second impression I got was that the synthesizer in the band added a very catchy, almost dance-y Motion City Soundtrack kind of feel.
One of my favorite tracks on the album, “A Loss For Words” mixes an early sound that I faintly connected to Name Taken’s first EP with a heavier element that reminds me a lot of when I first got into the new wave of post-hardcore/screamo back six years ago. A heavy “breakdown” comes into the ending of “A Loss For Words,” which surprisingly feels very heavy, a HUGE contrast with the catchier elements of their previous song. It seems the band wants to go for a contrast reminiscent of Silverstein vs. My American Heart. It’s very interesting how the two feels for the band contrast and battle each other through the rest of the CD and eventually mesh into an overarching sound for Thirteen Yards To Victory.
The biggest contrast occurs in “Behind The Scene,” where a sudden mood change turns the song from an incredibly upbeat song to a brutal drop-tuned chug-along with gang vocals. Needless to say, it brings out the influence of the heaviest bands they have been influenced by (take notice to As I Lay Dying in this part). The pace is picked up almost immediately with “Safe To Save.” This reminds me of some early The Starting Line mixed with Race The Sun. Once again, right when things feel normal through the ending of the song, Thirteen Yards pulls another breakdown to throw you off.
It became evident to me that Thirteen Yards To Victory wanted to catch the listeners off-guard yet challenge the listener to infer when the build-up of emotion would explode into the next heavy moment. Perhaps that is intended. Other tracks like “For Me” go to a purely heavy formula of fast elements turned to a breakdown with the dominance of screaming and shouting. The chant of “My heart still burns” may be a little cheesy for some, but it gets the point across with the fiery thrashing of drums and guitars to accompany it.
“I Want To Hear Another Slow Song” brings an interesting dynamic to Thirteen Yards. With a mix of vocals and pace of the song, it feels like a slowed-down Senses Fail mixed with Taking Back Sunday. The band achieves a catchy element very well through this song, and the song serves as a well-deserved break from the fast pace and chugging breakdowns prominent through so much of the CD. Granted, the entire ending of the song has that same sort of chug-along feeling but it feels much more natural through this song than others earlier in the CD. On top of that, (not to sound like I’m in middle school again but) the quick guitar picking elements in the very end of the song sound very cool.
Did I also mention that this CD just sounds really good? The mastering and recording of the CD sounds beautiful, and for a local band, I would have never guessed the ages of the guys or the fact that they are unsigned or anything. The CD art compliments the rest of the album by adding to the “sea-shore sound” in the final track of the CD “Resolution.” While the back could have been done a little less photoshop-y, the images of the ships on the CD cover and insert provide a very full-circle feeling to the album as you listen to it.
What does Thirteen Yards To Victory accomplish in this album? First off, they prove that they can give a definite consistency in the sound while diversity of the elements within the songs. Whether the band is panging away at Motion City Soundtrack-reminiscent synth elements or thrashing to an open-noted breakdown, the vocals and coming together of all instruments defines a certain sound that becomes Thirteen Yards. I had a very strong idea of what material this band was accomplishing and what direction they are going in from this CD. Secondly, in the band’s young age, they’ve proven that they do know how to play their instruments and make music that contends with bands who tour constantly. “Feudal Efforts Make Futile Friends” is a worthy effort, and now the band has proven that they can write some solid songs.
TRACK LIST:
01. Inception
02. Fall of Prospero
03. A Loss For Words
04. One Heartbeat Away
05. Behind The Scenes
06. Safe To Save
07. For Me
08. I Wanna Hear Another Slow Song
09. Signals Over Seas
10. Resolution
