Recover
This May Be the Year I Disappear (Strummer/Universal)Hometown screamo heroes Recover have pulled rank in Austin for years, but with major label debut This May Be the Year I Disappear, they deliver radio-quality love songs that combat teenage angst with adult euphoria. Ironically, it’s that 101Xity keeping Disappear out of the stellar category. Spotless production and songs structured more soundly than the Capitol building turn what could be a powerfully riveting album into a Coca-Cola commercial. Of course, with Richard Buckner and Ratatat doing car ads on primetime TV, this comment isn’t the stinger it once was. In fact, the sheen of TMBTYID just might introduce our local rockers to the rest of the world. Power-pop opener “Night of the Creeps” mirrors Jimmy Eat World if Jimmy were just a little hungrier. That track, along with “Simple” and “Slower,” follows a tried-and-true formula of climactic, explosive rock songs with grade-A production. The effectual “Disappear” begs for audience participation and by all means will get it. You can hear the rock chicks screaming across the country. With more complex, harmonic tracks “Crashed” and “Light Up the Night,” the latter employing classic rock tendencies to create a rock anthem, Disappear crosses the bridge from pop fluff to rock & roll might. Added to their energized live shows, Recover won’t be allowed to live up to their name anytime soon.
This article appears in November 19 • 2004.