Tonight, Long Island is the debut full-length by four-piece band Brookside and they'll probably make some new friends in the neighborhood by naming their album thus, but not necessarily based on the music contained within. This can be described as lukewarm power pop, devoid of any hardcore energy or even punk rock anarchy, but rife with emo-related sweetenings like aching melodies, preening vocals, and microcosmic teenage lyrics spanning the lovelorn gamut from "why me?" to "why you?" -- deep stuff, indeed. Although, it's ultimately this album's inexplicable lack of real passion (and who cares whether its naïve or legitimate) which sets its songs adrift pretty much from start to finish; only coalescing into remotely convincing efforts on "Silence as a Weapon" and the relatively enthusiastic "You Won't Feel a Thing." For the most part, though, Brookside often sound as though they were rushed into the studio and/or produced unsympathetically, so dire are the results. In either case, Tonight, Long Island smacks of immature artistry and amateurish chops, so Brookside certainly have some work to do.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo