Too Late The Hero – The Evil In Us

I love acoustic songs. They always find a way to spice up the album somehow and soon become some of my favorites. I always loved hearing these acoustic songs by bands like Against Me!, NOFX, Rise Against, Bink182, Taking Back Sunday and so forth, you know, bands that are normally electric, because there is still that sort of intensity in the songs while having a certain sincerity that a band can only pass on through a man and his guitar. Sadly, my opinion on all acoustic bands is vastly different. While there is always a certain attractive quality to them, it is rare that they are able to keep me entertained throughout the entire album. And despite the fact that Too Late The Hero‘s The Evil In Us All is just a five song EP, I still find it hard to listen to it all in one swoop.

Now that’s not saying that Too Late The Hero are bad at what they do, because they aren’t. They write good, slow, mellow songs that are structure mainly around the acoustic guitar of Jonathan Noah Skelton. It’s not entirely acoustic though, as Joshua Scott supplies some nice electric riffs throughout the backbone. Skelton sounds remarkably similar to Ace Enders of The Early November / I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business famed, and musically it wouldn’t be too hard to compare it to Enders’ solo project either.

The thing that hurts The Evil In Us All is the same thing that holds back most slow, acoustic projects – and that is the simple lack of intensity. There’s no real drive in the songs to push them forward or to attract the listener, and soon, the five minute long songs seem to drag on and on; particularly the ultra slow closer, Black Tie Affair.

Would I recommendToo Late The Hero to my friends? Probably not, because it’s really not my style of music. Too laid back, too monotonous, and no intensity or drive. But fans of similar projects, like I Can Make A Mess… will surely find solace within the five song EP.