Sound: After being impressed with the rejuvenation of power-pop in Damone's 2006 release, 'Out Here All Night,' I was only too pleased when, in December 2008, they released 'Roll the Dice,' their third record.
We all know the drill where album releases are concerned. The first needs to be the breakthrough, the second needs to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, and the third needs to be a more mature step. Many recent artists have wisely followed this formula, from Fall Out Boy to My Chemical Romance.
"Interesting choice," you may say. Actually, I chose those two deliberately. My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy started out as mildly successful, moved in with a solid second record, but something interesting happened around record three.
With 'Infinity on High,' (which hardcore FoB fans will chew me out for calling a third record, as they did release an EP before 'Take This to Your Grave') Patrick and co - or shall I say Pete and so - were met with reviews which could best be described as "lukewarm." Fans and critics were split about that third record, whether it be stylistic difference or too much Wentz in the media. God, I hate that guy.
Then we have 'The Black Parade,' a desperate attempt to bring Queen back from the dead and break from the emo stereotype. Granted, the latter was pulled off, if not as far as the fans were concerned. Many of the fans are still whiny emo chicks. I myself was once a huge fan of MCR, hence my unchangeable username.
So 'TBP.' Some critics raved, others complained. I myself rated it under a 7. It was that third album which tried to break the stylistic pretense of the successful sophomore, and, while succeeding, lacked a certain punch. Linkin Park gave us 'Minutes to Midnight,' which, while a great album where production and whatnot is concerned, fans are still split over.
Now we have Damone's 'Roll the Dice.' The interesting thing about Damone is that their second record was immensely different from the 2003 debut, 'From the Attic.' The former was louder and definitely Bon Jovi-inspired. 'Roll the Dice' continues this trend, and, in many ways, improves.
This time around, the guitars are more slick, the choruses roar, and the 80's vibe is more prominent than ever, yet subtly modernized like few artists do. If there is one thing improved about this record, it's the production value and general musical style. Damone has refined their sound, which is all well and good, but refined sound does not equate to quality work.
I'll elaborate with a track-by-track.
We open, naturally, with the title track. It works just as well as "Now is the Time" did for 'Out Here All Night,' perhaps better. Introductions are made between listener and record with some neat guitars (note: boring bass lines) and "welcome to the new record"-type lyrics.
"Serial Killer" instantly made Noelle LeBlanc one of my favorite female singers in the genre. She takes nods from Joan Jett, yes, but also from more ambitious vocalists of the age she's so evidently stuck in. The chorus of this song particularly impressed.
"Bored to Death" is nice for its guitar riff and a few other things, but can otherwise be described as "good, but with wasted potential." By now, I'm tired of the predictable verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula. Granted, many artists utilize this, but at least My Chemical Romance changed it up with "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Cancer."
"Dressed Up Like a Millionaire" is pretty tight. Immediately, the guitars remind us of Van Halen and a few other artists of the genre. Lyrics get shaky with the chorus and second verse particularly.
"Obvious Things" is better than the last two, but without surpassing the openers and the all-too-important finale. A few of the lyrics are clever, though the chorus definitely needs work. You see where things are going.
"The Most of It." ...I don't even remember this track, despite that I've heard it three times today. There are two possibilities: I have early-onset Alzheimer's, or the song sucks. Quite honestly, I'm inclined to believe either, but the only good thing about this song is the chorus. The vocals/lyrics are nearly perfect, but guitars need WAY more power to sell me.
With "Talk of the Town," I laughed during a Damone song for the first time since I heard the staggeringly mediocre line "I'm rockin' a BMZ bike" which 'From the Attic' and its opening track, "Frustrated Unnoticed," sported.
Here, Noelle takes a back seat, and one of the three male vocalists comes in for no apparent reason and starts impersonating either Axel Rose or David Lee Roth.
It gets worse. His obnoxious voice, accompanied with guitars akin to both Guns 'N' Roses as well as Van Halen, continues for another track. Ironically enough, this song is called "Don't Miss It." I am going to recommend that you just ignore this and miss it.
Miraculously, Noelle comes back for "Better Than You Let On," which hearkens back to their debut's easygoing musical style. This is a problem, seeing as their debut really wasn't that great.
The hilarious thing about the next track, "You Could Be Mine-"
Sorry, did you just laugh?
Oh! You know this song?
What's that? "It's Guns 'N' Roses?"
Yes, I know that.
Much like in the case of their cover of Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years," Damone decides that one of the best songs on the album won't be theirs.
Compliments, however, go to this track. Noelle's vocals have never been better, and the guitars sound good and all. I just can't get past the fact that one of the best tracks is a cover. It goes to show how iffy this record really is.
The poppy "Conquer Me" inexplicably makes an appearance. I still don't know why this song is here, apart from the "Yay! It's the end of another record!" lyrics.
The only relief we get at this point apart from the fact that, when you skip the two male vocalist tracks this album is only thirty-eight minutes long, is the ending. Yeah, get out your rimshots about how the best part of a certain movie (Twilight) is its credits.
"When It Ends" is the best song on this record, period. It's got the right amount of emotion, a decent helping of 80's power-pop/rock balladness set in 21st century rock, and a sonic build which explodes the final chorus like a song constructed this way should. Some of the lyrics for the intro bug me and the solo is plain boring, but otherwise, this is good stuff.
Now you see what I was talking about. Unlike 'Out Here All Night,' this record doesn't have more than a handful of really good tracks. On the aforementioned, I can pick maybe two songs I don't love, one of which is the Iron Maiden cover, which I'm just spiteful of.
By the third record, Damone should have been delivering every time. Even with 'The Black Parade,' which fans of "REAL rock" despise, you must admit that there weren't huge ups and huge downs. Every track was at least decent, and none stood out as huge flops. This is all strictly based on production value and musical depth.
Same thing with the aforementioned Fall Out Boy record. The songs were mostly on the same level. Unfortunately, Damone failed to impress or even satisfy in the same way. Sonically, this record is okay and is produced just fine, but is also the sort of record you'd expect to see fall under the "sophomore slump" category. A few good songs with fillers intended to increase the length. 5/10: passable, but nothing new or impressive. // 5
Lyrics and Singing: I summed up the lyrics on a track-by-track basis, which should give you a sense of how I feel where they're concerned. Being a lyricist myself, I tend to cringe at awkward lines like "Baby, your love, I told you last night's a serial killer" or "What did I do now that hurts everyone I care about" or "Have a smoke and clink your glasses; tell a joke and I'll make an ass out of myself tonight" or whatever.
It's just laziness. If you can't write a better lyric, start over. There's no room for mediocrity on a third record. Lyrically, construction of a record is not about having a few solid songs and letting the rest fall by the wayside. Damone's lyrics have never been incredible, but there are many moments in former incarnations which impressed me far more than "Yeah, so, I could've done better; told the rest to the man on the leather couch."
Feeble but not worthless. // 4
Impression: I don't want to rate this album poorly, but I'm not the one writing shoddy lyrics and trying desperately to sound GOOD when I'm imitating David Lee or Eddie Van. I was rather fond of 'Out Here All Night,' and still am, but I can't help but wonder if the reason Damone no longer exists is the fact that they lost their spirit. With this record, they just didn't care. At least, not from where I stand.
Musically, this album surpasses the quality of 'From the Attic,' but lacks the edge and emotion. It went from a good "new" Joan Jett sort of feel to a very bad version of Axel Rose.
The best of the few good songs are "When It Ends," "Serial Killer," and "Obvious Things." That's it. Those are the only tracks I would rate above a 5.
I can only hope that Noelle's side project will be more successful, but the thing I hope she carries with her is that effort counts. Yes, mainstream music is awful for the large part and songs like "Rockstar" dominate the charts, but look at "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Workin' For the Weekend." Can anyone say 'one hit wonder?'
Records that were once underrated are now known as classics. I'm sure you see what I'm saying. I'll explain for the kids playing along at home: lack of falling into the mold of mainstream media does not make a band bad. Yes, there are good mainstream artists, but those who try to hard WILL fail.
Sorry, Damone, but I cannot recommend anything more than a couple of downloads on iTunes for those who enjoy the band anyway. Listen to it if you want, but it's not worth trudging through an entire half of the record dedicated to awful cover bands. // 4
Was this review helpful to you? 
