Jimmy Eat World fans perk up your ears: there's a newcomer to the post punk, alternative rock scene, and they hail from Phoenix, AZ. Yeah that's right, I said Phoenix. The hottest, driest, most desolate place in the country during the months of May through October. And things are only going to get hotter with Thousand Yard Stare mixing in their own dose of jet fuel and rock energy, blowing it all in your face while you stand on freshly laid asphalt at high noon with a slight, oven-like breeze whipping your thoughts right out of your head and gone like farts in the wind.What to do with this newfound confusion? Buy the aptly named Stars and Roadmaps, and give in to the powerful rock anthems and acoustic wonderments that are the sound of Thousand Yard Stare.
How peculiar these guys hail from the same place as such greats as The Format and Jimmy Eat World, among many others. TYS however have a certain unique sound about them, as is evidenced in 'Get You Down', a shift-changing melody that rocks at one point then gently lays you down for bed the next.
Nick Romes has the right vocals for this type of rock, and strums along on his guitar with it quite nicely. Chris Jensen sounds like a prodigy on guitars as well, with a pleasant sound that's easy on the ears as in 'Dim', then rocks with the best of them on tracks like 'The Refusal' and 'Death of an Airwave.' Tom Livingston has an obvious knack for bass and plays it like a well-oiled machine, and percussionist Will Johnston sounds like he could play drums in any old band that he would so choose.
Together, this foursome rocks one better than any of the aforementioned bands: they play with balls, and aren't afraid to shake the tunes up with exploratory elements and experimental jaunts that are sweet to the taste and painless on the ears. Phoenix won't be getting any cooler anytime soon, especially with theses guys flaunting their talents and gaining new fans by the minute. Grab their new CD now, and become the first to listen this band before they break out big time. For fans of Jimmy Eat World and the Format.
