Gates
The Sun Will Rise and Lead Me Home, EP

This review is for a good friend Shawn Paterson, who threatened to mince me up with a katana if I didn’t comply and write this. This is also for Gates, a band from the heartland. The heartland being Jersey of course. Having only known about this band for a total of 7 hours as of this writing, I must say, they are not hard to enjoy.

Gates’ EP, The Sun Will Rise and Lead Me Home, starts with a calm intricacy of plucking and bumping electric guitar strings. “A Vague Ambition” is like a musical fog being lifted from a lush field. It truly had me picturing beautiful things. The song sets up the feel of the rest of the album. The blending of beautiful guitar riffs and distant  gravely vocals go with the fantastic cocktail of angst, maturity, and worldliness. Fans of Circa Survive, This Town Needs Guns and Polar Bear Club will feel right at home here. 

The first thing I noticed when I began to listen critically was that many of the songs tended to blend together. A lot of the guitar sounds started sounding too similar, mix that with the distance in the singer’s voice and you can easily become confused as to which particular song you’re listening to. Each song lacks its own distinct punch that sets it apart. That being said, I strongly believe in music with such qualities. This is the kind of music that you put on, sit on your couch and just soak in. The sounds are hypnotizing and enthralling. The steady drum beats, the organized lunacy of the lead guitar keep you drawn. It’s music that one might experience, rather than listen to. 

The lyrics are very well written and stand with a broad chest and strong shoulders. They have a message and want you to hear it. However, when the lyrics are sung alongside the instruments, they can become lost in the music. The lyrics deserve more than they’re dealt in some cases. “In The Morning” is beautifully written, but it took some research to discover that. The vocals start strong, then are mixed into the music and take a back seat to guitar riffs. I think some songs would benefit from a little more volume behind the vocals, this may only be a post production issue, but I would like to hear that voice catch the light when it counts. 

All in all I’m very pleased with Gates’ release The Sun Will Rise and Lead Me Home. It’s truly beautiful music, and with some fine tuning it the sun will only shine brighter upon them, leading many more to this unique and talented band.

The aforementioned EP is available on their website (http://gatesnj.com/) for free, which I found out after spending about $6 on iTunes (well worth it!). They also have some great T-Shirts for sale! 

You can follow the band on Twitter at @gatesmusic.


A Post By: Michael Montgomery