Audio By Carbonatix
Formerly Vonnegut, Take to the Oars has gone through plenty of changes since the first incarnation of the band in 2005. Since then, it’s locked in a steady lineup and defined a solid identity with its new moniker. American Volume, the group’s full-length debut, is a long wail of guitar and falling vowels. There’s a veritable orchestra in the back pocket, with supplementary layers coming from accordions, chimes and plenty more. Mostly, though, there’s the wailing: Every melody slides off a cliff face, and every word is sung as though through a knife wound to the chest. It’s worked plenty in the past: The emo kids have started looking hard for tunefulness, and they’ll find it here.
