Take 21 - Nothing is Real (Album)
It is with a certain amount of pathos that I write this review. Some preliminary ‘fact-finding’ on Take 21 led to their MySpace page which indicated that the band was no more.
Citing the old chestnut of ‘musical differences’ for the split, Take 21 imploded after just a handful of years together and a string of rather impressive supports with such M.O.R punk-lite acts as Fall Out Boy – leaving yours truly to write a posthumous review of the band’s debut EP Nothing is Real.
The EP’s opener, Say it Again, with all of its emo/punk histrionics struggles to tread water amid the current glut of bands, both here and abroad, that are doing pretty much the same thing. This isn’t helped by a muddy production that buries whatever dynamics and ‘wow’ factor that may be experienced live deep into the mix.
The same can be said for pretty much the rest of the EP. There are moments of certain clarity though. However, these moments of clarity tend to come not from the band but when producers-of-note Magoo and Jeff Lovejoy step behind the desks - particularly on the title track/single.
Take 21 aren’t afraid to show their softer side on this EP. The track Be Warned reminded this reviewer of a kind of watered down Get Up Kids. It’s the kind of song that would be perfect in any teenage comedy/coming of age film playing over the scene where the protagonist discovers the true meaning of love/friendship.
Overall, Nothing is Real offers nothing of real significance on the disc, but I get the feeling that it may be a different story altogether for this band live, but with the band broken up, I guess I’ll never know...
