Reviewed! The Material - Everything I Want To Say

The Material

Everything I Want To Say

Aside from say, Bang Camaro (seriously, how awesome is “Pleasure (Pleasure)?”), not many bands made a name for themselves via the Rock Band video game – unless you’re The Material. The inclusion of their track “Moving To Seattle” catapulted them to relevancy, and is, well, was, perhaps their crowning achievement, until now, because their sophomore full length Everything I Want To Say is their new crowning achievement. Not only is it the best they’ve ever sounded, it’s the best release of their young career.

With Everything I Want To Say, The Material showcase a powerful, transcendent sound that leans closer to Halestorm than Paramore, a lush sound bursting with towering melodies crafted in large part by frontwoman Colleen D’Agostino, who lends such an angsty breadth to Everything I Want To Say. Her soulful vocals infuse copious levels of passionate energy into these proceedings, making for quite a few highlights throughout Everything I Want To Say (“Life Vest,” “Born To Make a Sound,” “Running Away”). Proof that great things do indeed come in small packages, the 45-second piano interlude “The Great Unknown” serves as a nice transitional bridge for listeners to the latter half of Everything I Want To Say, which features perhaps the album’s richest melody (“Love Me Or Leave Me”) and its most inspirational moment (“Chances”).

Everything I Want To Say is decidedly heavier than anything The Material has delved into in their career to date, and this could not have been better off because of that heaviness. If Everything I Want To Say is just the tip of the iceberg, then there’s really no telling what The Material is capable of.

Grade: B+

Go Download: “Love Me Or Leave Me”