New York-based Semi Precious Weapons have truly made a name for themselves with their glam-rock-meets-gritty-dance-pop style and their attention-grabbing performing abilities. Seriously, the amount of charisma in this band sets a high bar for those who strive to be like them and their newest album Aviation definitely doesn’t fail to make us want to get some drank age and dance our little asses off ’til the sun rises.
The album starts off with their mesmerizing, new-school Linkin Park with an ’80s flair single “Aviation High” and it sets the tone for the eclectic musical artistry that follows. “Look to the Stars” starts off lullaby-like and leads into an upbeat dance track while “Scream to the Sky” showcases lead singer Justin Tranter’s vocal chops (that boy can seriously hold his high note). “Cherries On Ice (feat. Dominque Young Unique)” has got a funky ’90s hip-hop vibe that is far from cheesy but still has that obvious strong rock influence.
Some of the final songs (“Free Booze”, “Vegas”) sound like if 30 Seconds to Mars and The Ready Set had a child and who rebelled and turned into Cash Cash. Aviation ends with “Hands Up”, a track about never letting the haters bring you down that ironically makes you want to belt out the line “hands up motherfuckas.”
The two songs on Aviation to really pay attention to couldn’t be any more different from each other. Literally, they’re on different ends of the theme spectrum.
In one corner you’ve got the let’s-get-shwasted, reminiscent of The White Tie Affair‘s standalone 2010 single “You Look Better When I’m Drunk” club track – “Drink”. While it’s a fairly simple track with the chorus consisting of the repetitive line “wish I had a drink/so I don’t have to think about you,” its infectious melody is hard to ignore.
In the other corner you’ve got Aviation‘s lone ballad “Healed”. It’s got one part Adam Lambert‘s “Whataya Want From Me?” and two parts being there for someone even if they want to keep everything hidden. With Tranter’s softened voice and soothing electric keyboards, there is a beautiful haunting quality that gives the album a refreshing point of view.
Aviation is quite an enjoyable album and the way it flows simply makes it that much more awesome. Sure, it would’ve been fine without “Young Love” and “That’s My Friends” (the music for both is great but the lyrics throw off their fabulousness). Semi Precious Weapons have got a musically rich and lyrically entrancing album on their hands that will make any music lover want to take in every second of it.
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