Built around vocalist/guitarist Greg McGowan,
Time and Distance has evolved from a solo acoustic act to a full band (rocking comfortably now as a trio). With its growth in size comes an obviously fuller sound, and the band has settled into a groove of churning out proficient pop/rock with accessible melodies and emo sensibilities. Overall,
Gravity is a solid record, one that never veers far from its polished, structured core of emotive vocals and clean guitars (with the occasional piano), and all its talk of bruised relationships, missed calls, and searching for some solid ground to stand on will certainly appeal to those people fawning over bands like
Boys Like Girls. But for all its good qualities and enjoyable songs, there's not enough here to distinguish the band from all the other emo pop bands of the world. At times, it just seems like
Time and Distance is five years too late to the party, writing songs that are good, but heard many times before, and lacking the truly striking hooks or memorable lyrics that would make the album a must-spin a few days later. It was exciting to wonder, back when it was just McGowan and his guitar, where he would take things and what type of music he'd ultimately make, especially once paired with a full band. Unfortunately, the direction on
Gravity is a pretty standard one, and while competent and not bad, the band is going to need to do a lot more if there's a prayer of standing out or even having people care if they stick around. ~ Corey Apar