Late In The Playoffs - Alive And On Your Own

Chicago, IL's own Late In The Playoffs have landed on the scene with their debut release titled Alive And On Your Own. The first effort from these rockers features a dynamic and diverse collection of tunes that really speaks to mind the immense talent and breadth of maturity that these guys are capable of displaying both on record and on stage.

We start things off here with "Golden Years" a blasting, incredible slice of heaven with insightful guitar riffs and inviting lead vocals brought to you by Aaron Goldschmidt that starts things off on the right note and gives us great vibes as we anticipate eagerly the rest of the album to follow. "Never Wrong" is an indelible, exhilarating track that best encapsulates Aaron's lead vocals, and shows off the musicality of everyone involved as the rest of the album takes shape to a wonderful delight. "You Won't" is a track that evokes the carefree nature of the summertime with soaring melodies and incredible guitar licks that really makes you proud to be in the presence of such gifted and talented musicians who know firsthand how to illicit the attention of their audience with such laserlike precision. My favorite track off the album is "Hope", an acoustic based track that really hits you in the face the moment you first hear it with Aaron's terrific vocal abilities once again providing the backdrop to an all out incredible track that is the highlight of a knockout album heard here so far.

The second half of the disc takes shape with "Living Proof" an intense, captivating rocker that grabs at you from a lyrical standpoint, with the instrumentation at hand providing the perfect accompaniment to an all around excellent track to listen to from front to back. The disc starts to draw to a close on "You and The Cold", a toned down, laid back rocker that begins to wrap things up on a well rounded and diverse collection of tunes heard so far. The disc ultimately draws to a close on "Chemical", a steady and building rocker that manages to bring in all the diverse musical elements heard to this point, and presents to us an encapsulated synopsis of the album as a whole and what we've encountered in our journey to the end. What I enjoyed most about this album was the carefree and dynamic nature of the album that really got me all shook up the moment I first laid ears on this album, and was immediately captivated of the sheer musical knowledge amassed by these four talented musicians and coupled that with the fact that the album was recorded right here in Danvers, MA shows the local connection of this album and really gravitates me towards these guys in a big way.

To sum it all up, an outstanding and riveting album from Late In The Playoffs, who have brought with them an cohesive and straightforward collection of tunes that is the bare bones essence of what true, honest musicianship both feels and sounds like. Highly recommended and one of the best albums of the year so far.

                                                                                                                       Album Score: 5/5

Track Listing:

1. Golden Years
2. Never Wrong
3. The Wayside
4. You Won't
5. Hope
6. Force of Nature
7. Living Proof
8. My Sober Self
9. You and the Cold
10. Chemical