Disco de t.A.T.u.: “All About Us”

If you're in the mood for some good rock 'n roll, the kind that gives you goosebumps and makes you want to speed as you turn up the volume in your car, then check out The Elms' The Chess Hotel. Compared with the previous albums of said band, The Elms certainly reveal a maturity to their style. The phrase, "balls to the wall," encapsulates the whole of the album perfectly. However, they still retain the distinct musical idiosyncrasies that made me love their previous albums. Catchy riffs, pop sensibility, and relevant lyrics come together and show the genuine attitude of the band. They really love what they do. The theme of The Chess Hotel attests to this fact, as The Elms expose the rigors of small-town living where following one's heart is not encouraged, much less done. Whereas The Elms seem to have no theme in their previous albums, The Chess Hotel explores a myriad of facets with its theme, adding something new and pleasant to the mix. The Elms complement the rough and tough side of small-town life with a raw, pure, and natural sound. You feel the emotion and the grit with the seemingly pretentious vocals that call forth your attention and guitars that bleed through your ears. The rhythm section of the band maintains the crucial heartbeat of the band, and at times makes you want to shake it.

Songs such as "Who Puts Rock'n Roll in Your Blood" and "The Chess Hotel" engage you in a sonorous experience. With a bluesy, catchy riff, the former presents The Elms as an answer to the title question while subtly offering the band's hard work as a motivator to those following their heart. The latter speaks of blue-collar burnout, revealing the reality of many a small-town folk. Owen Thomas, lead singer, truly shines vocally in this one. Not to mention, the song is catchy as hell.

The Elms draw from a multitude of 60's and 70's rock bands. One can hear characteristics of The Who, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Badfinger, Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, The Byrds, and Cream, just to name a few. While drawing influence from these bands, The Elms create a sound unique to them. This isn't an imitation band. They're the real deal. You won't regret buying this album, plus it's under $10, a great bargain.

-Track Listing-

I Am the World

Who Puts Rock & Roll In Your Blood?

Nothin' To Do With Love

Makes Good Sense

I Left My Body And Never Came Back

She's Cold

The Chess Hotel

Bring Me Your Tea

The Way I Will

The Downtown King

Black Peach

The Towers & The Trains

I've Been Wrong

Wow...where do I begin? This is quite possibly the best album I've heard this year. The Elms continue to progress with each release but don't stray too terribly far from home. That home is rooted firmly in the late 60's and early 70's. The Elms have already proven that they have a knack for Beatles/Beach Boys harmonies and hooks. They have also demonstrated a fondness for Byrds/REM/Tom Petty jangling guitars. Their last album (Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll) saw the Indiana-based band channeling Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on several tracks as well as the previously mentioned artists.

The new album throws in more sweet harmonies along with blistering guitar riffs and solos. Vocalist Owen Thomas has found a new voice on several tracks and it sounds as if he found it on some old Aerosmith records. He manages a scream or two that would make Steven Tyler proud. He has come a long way from the baby-faced kid with the sweet voice on the self-titled EP from 2000. This is a not-so kinder and gentler band. The pop sensibility is still there but the guitars take center stage on nearly every song and you can't help but draw comparisons to Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, and (at times) Led Zeppelin.

Those looking for blatant evangelical lyrics will be disappointed but that doesn't mean there is a lack of faith here or that these guys don't have something important to say. Thomas has been quoted as saying "I go to the local hangs and play cards with guys who are 50 or 60 years old. What I hear most people say is that given the chance, they would have gotten out of this town. And I'm not pointing these things out to say that this is a horrible, deadbeat, mundane, burnout little place. What I'm trying to say is that there are millions of American people who, by and large, are victims of circumstance. Many in America are doing what they do because somebody told them that following their heart was not practical."

Christians would do well to listen to the stories that Thomas has to share on the album and figure out how we (as the body of Christ) can bring Him into those places. Getting our faces rocked off in the process is an added bonus.

Lee's Top Tracks (for the moment):

I Am The World

Nothin' To Do With Love

Bring Me Your Tea

The Chess Hotel

I'm looking for my face. Thomas Daugherty's guitar solos rocked it off. This album is pure American rock and roll folks. All killer no filler rock and roll. My favorite tracks would be " I am the world" , "Nothing to do with love","Who puts rock and roll in your blood?","The way I will" and "The towers and the trains" The first four I mentioned are world class hits. "The towers and the trains" is a bonafide anthem. How much do I love it? Let me count the ways. I love it when....

(1) Lyrics actually have something to say.

(2) Musicians put their heart and soul into their work.

(3) Albums aren't "overproduced".

Do yourself a big favor. Give it a listen. Buy it. If you do- you won't be able to get it off your mind or out of your CD player.

The Elms put out so-so efforts on their debut and sophomore albums, but they really broke their shell this time. The Chess Hotel is a masterpiece, and nothing less. Channeling the classic Rhythm & Blues with 80s rock and modern pop appeal, you're checking out an album that reflects upon Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, JET, and The White Stripes. What The Elms push on The Chess Hotel is a revival of what JET can't quite seem to capture. Many music critics would claim The Chess Hotel is what it means to write a rock album that is solid gold. While "I Am The World" pull the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" glaze, other tracks drive south to the dirty blues with "Who Puts Rock and Roll In Your Blood?" and "The Chess Hotel". "Black Peach" is the soft rock reminder of a girl who yurns to stand out and be noticed by boys so that she doesn't feel alone. The disc walks between making statements about rocking and then crosses into testimonials of people they know and how their lives are lived for such petty things. "She's Cold!" breaks the main themes by discussing a girl that is described as "a killer, a real cold killer" and later "a monster" for playing with hearts like they're children's toys.

Overall, this album should have broken into the mainstream. It may not have hit major platinum success, but critics would have praised it, no doubt. It's a shame that some of these smaller label bands don't get the exposure they deserve. This is one band that would tear apart every other rock album of 2006. Shame shame, a real diamond in the rough is what you'll find on The Chess Hotel.

It's quite difficult to review an album with so much passion and energy squeezed into all of 2,400 seconds. Each song on The Chess Hotel possesses such a unique voice, and beautifully written/performed compositions, that there are hardly highlights on this album. It's entirely first-class. Despite my bias in favor of The Elms' sound, I am uttering what I believe to be truth.

The Chess Hotel is played hard and heavy - while at the same time, resting beautifully, gracefully. The sounds are raw. Nothing you hear is purely a tone of a voice or instrument, it all lies within the nuances of the performance. Screams and thunderous drums rub calluses in your ears in tracks like "I Am The World", "The Chess Hotel", and "She's Cold". The energy from these darker feeling songs will make your heart pound like no other. The quietude of the gentler songs will then steady your heart far beyond your expectations.....and then, suddenly, a faster paced syncopated drum in tracks like "The Way I Will" will give you the impulse to dance around the room.

The performances by the four boys are played as though the world is ending soon, and there are only forty minutes left to save rock & roll. There is a highlight, I would vie - "The Towers and the Trains". It is the epic concurrence that links the splendor of perfection and the dirtiness of grief. As long as you are patient and listen attentively, you will not be disappointed by the song.

Even from a lyrical standpoint, The Chess Hotel is incredibly diverse, discussing: Changing the world, warning the world, helping the girl, falling for the girl, fixing lost love. Defiantly demanding appreciation from those who know how to rock and roll. Giving credit to those who sacrifice by working wholeheartedly. Reflecting on the lost lives of beings of those who truly have lost purpose in their existence. And humbly admitting that taking wealth for granted is sinful.

No recordings have ever had such powerful melodies recorded in such a gloriously bare and sparse light. I have never heard an LP that rocked harder, or raised the bar higher, than The Chess Hotel.

The sounds derive from the 60's and 70's, but The Elms are definitely not a classic rock impersonators. Trust me, it will brilliantly put rock and roll in your blood.

I recommend buying this album as soon as possible.

Oh, and turn up your stereo.