Decibully's debut album,
City of Festivals, was a charming mix of chamber pop arrangements, emo earnestness, and hooky, memorable songs. It had an easygoing charm and sense of adventure that is sorely lacking on the follow-up, Sing Out America! So are the hooks. Instead it is a dreary, overblown foray into the world of stadium indie with vocalist William Seidel chewing the scenery like Bono on a particularly self-important day and the rest of the band playing with wind machines blowing and lighters waved overhead. Partly this unpleasant sensation is due to the production of the record and the cavernous drums, crashing cymbals, overprocessed guitars, and widescreen ambiance; partly it is the ponderous songs that are aiming for
Radiohead-like levels of importance and drama and end up sounding like all the already forgotten bands who already tried and failed at that gambit. Apart from the decent rocker "Penny Look Down," the only song that makes any positive impression is the a cappella "Temptation," but even that goes on too long and is derailed by Seidel's painfully forced earnestness. The weird thing is that this record isn't really all that different than
City of Festivals. It just has a pro slickness and a sense that the band is trying for some kind of mass acceptance instead of just making a good record. Proving that you don't have to jump to a major label to sell out, Sing Out America! is a depressingly generic and forgettable album from a band that seemed destined for better things. ~ Tim Sendra