Elway – Delusions

The first introduction I had to Elway was before they were known as Elway. Previously performing under the moniker 10-4 Elanor, the band slowly began making a name for themselves and Tim Browne, the energetic front man, did a unbelievably good acoustic covers set in the hotel lobby at The Fest last year at three in the morning. He was a punk rock jukebox – throw a band out and he knew the song and played it.

That whole story is somewhat irrelevant but does set the platform to say that Browne knows his way around a punk rock song structure. He’s taken that knowledge into the songs that make up Elway’s debut album, Delusions.

For you see, Delusions is a smorgasbord of all the good things in punk. They are, in fact, the perfect Chicago punk band despite being from Colorado. This is a prime example of melodic punk rock that only Matt Allison can record. It’s like they stole Chris McCaughan from The Lawrence Arms, locked him in a basement and forced him to keep writing songs for them.

On top of the McCaughan influence, Browne’s vocals also have elements of Chris Cresswell from The Flatliners in them – melodic with a slightly rougher edge at times. The vocals tend to stay on the melodic, smoother spectrum for the most part but occasional jump up with a harsher delivery tone to it, adding depth and variation to the song structure.  Aphorisms is the prime example, where the contrast pushes the song forward.

Sing along choruses and some of the best “woahs” this side of a Bad Religion record, Delusions engulfs you as you listen to it – puling you into its deepest core and making you sing along like it was aMenzingers song. Listen to It’s Alive, Whisper In A Shot Glass, Kristina’s Last Song or the sarcastic, tongue-in-check scene analysis of Song For Eric Solomon To Sing and you’ll see what I mean.

Lyrically, they’re at the top of the game as well. Somewhat clichéd at times, Elway’s lyrics are a reminder of some of Brendan Kelly’s best lyrical work yet delivered in such an honest fashion that they come of as truly sincere and passionate.

On Delusions, Elway has mastered the art of melodic punk songs. Pulling in various influences, they’re able to add their own elements to it in order to create a distinct yet familiar sound.