The Reveling – 3D Radio

For the past few weeks I’ve had The Reveling‘s debut EP, 3D Radio sitting in my three disc CD player and in all that time I think it’s only left the player once. The other two spots have been switched in and out numerous times and there were times when I would just skip over 3D Radio completely to hear the next CD – but it rarely left my CD player. Why? I don’t know. Yes, I had plans to review it and, due to one reason or another, kept getting sidetracked so that may be one reason it stayed in there; however, I also need to review the new Tegan and Sara and that has been in and out of my CD player for weeks so I don’t think that’s the real reason. Maybe it’s because at four songs and just over twelve minutes, 3D Radio is a nice and easy EP to throw in and play during short down periods – but I normally sit in my office for hours at a time so that can’t be it. So why has it stayed in my CD player? I don’t really know.

It’s weird because 3D Radio isn’t awe-inspiring, it isn’t shockingly good, and it doesn’t come out of left field and blow you away. Still, The Reveling have delivered an EP that is both enjoyable and comfortable while being capable to be played over and over again, at times taking over and other times simply sweeping into the background.

Now for that, I can tell you why. You see 3D Radio has many things going for it. First is the matter of the length. Over in twelve minutes, 3D Radio succesfully wets the appetite of the listener without pummeling them over the head with repetition. It spikes your interest just enough to keep you happily replaying it over and over again but not to the point where you’re painfully waiting for more. Then there is the music itself which is really what I should be talking about; for you see,3D Radio is comfortable in its familiarty without being too familiar.

There is something hidden within every note, every bass line, every gritty vocal harmony of the pop-punk band that sounds so right and so familiar and yet it’s hard to pull in comparisions. There’s a mixture of Fat Wreck meets No Idea with some skate punk harmony but even that is misleading. There’s some Minnesota influences (Breadline could fit into a CD by The Gateway Distract if they had a female singer) but the biggest influence and similiartity is one that you will have a hard time picking out until by yourself: a Sink or Swim era Gaslight Anthem. While the songs aren’t as good as that breakthrough (and most likely soon-to-be essential) punk album, The Reveling definitely shows some Gaslight influeces but do it in such a way that you won’t notice them until they’ve been pointed out. So now that you’ve read that they’re there, you’ll never not notice them which, in a way, kind of ruins the subtely of it and for that I apologize.

At the end of the day, The Reveling have delivered an enjoyable debut that shows some promise for the band’s future. It won’t be an EP that I’ll go out of my way to listen to, but it’s one that I’ll happily listen to anytime I happen to come across it. It’s familiar, it’s comfortable, it’s catchy and it’s a good starting point for the band to build off of.