Album Details

• Artist: Olympia
• Album: Emergencies
• Label: Equal Vision Records
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: hstisgod on 2007-04-26

Media

Rolling in a grungy, yet Emo flavored chant style is Washington, DC based Olympia. The result of yet another indie scene breakup, Olympia features members - guitarist Peter Tsouras and drummer Shane Johnson - from Fairweather and Brand New Disaster. Olympia's sound follows in a new wave type similar to one of Rock's finest alternative acts, Nirvana. Simplistic guitar rock, but muddy drippings in bland distortion. Often times, Olympia fills its tracks with open bar fillers, setting a vibe reminiscent to that of the Seattle (Not Olympia) sound.

Bastogne,has a constant guitar stroke with a catchy chorus, "This is the art of War", an infectious vocal echoeing, making it a top three for quick rememberance. Though starting off grungy like the rest of the tracks here, The Ressurectionist draws more of a Jimmy Eat World effect. It's a chorus that bleeds in a stutter step rhythm with vocals and instrumentation grouped together.

The CD starts off with Chorus!Chorus!Chorus!, which sets a quick pace for the entire CD. The tempo changes from one gear to the next in a matter of moments. The only time the song sits at an awkward momentum is towards the end of the track, bellowing out the repetitive chorus. "Break down before the catastrophe, stick around without shaking your fist," hence the title.

Let's get down to brass tacks, M80 is the lead single, and for good reason. A pounding percussion for the basics and an electric bridge verify these guys have an infectious sound. Very distinctive harmonics and guitar work make this a song to share with friends. Even Rome Had Sewers has the most distinct comparrison to Nirvana. Raw and rhythmic hesitance with an powerful energy, this track cuts the disc right in half.

Olympia is a Motherf*cker, starts out with something similar to almost all of Nirvana's catalogue, that knifing percussion intro drum roll. This song features a repetitive but catchy little chorus. "Save your reasons, Cause I got some of my own." Track eleven Lo, my name is Abhorred starts more like one and done artists, Hometown Hero, those echoed little guitar pricks, and leads to a soft verse, only to ease into a progressive awakening chorus.

Though, a terrific manwich of nose pinch, the vocals approach never leave a certain tone and pitch that seems to be a hybrid of Metal/Punk/Emo. As for the music, most songs are difficult to discern from each other upon the first three to four listens, but overall, the energetic melting of Grunge and Emo has found a place in my collection.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-05-03 Symphony Said:

It's not that I didn't want to review it. I did. But I was incapable of it. I wanted to base it off Fairweather/Brand New Disaster and found myself clueless of the band's history so it made my conceptualized review hard. That's when I hit a wall. And then I really couldn't finish the album.
Rating: 5/10

Review:

on 2007-05-03 hstisgod Said:

Yea, thats what I figured, but thats no reason to NOT review it. Reviewing only albums you love is not being a reviewer. Its called being a fan of music. Giving this album a 0 out of 10 is just another sign of your lack of maturation Sean. You're beginning to disappoint me consistently. You CANT change that rating. Something tells me you'll come around, so I've not lost all hope for you.
Rating: 7/10

Review:

on 2007-05-02 Symphony Said:

You gave this more justice than I would have. This album was horrible.
Rating: 5/10