Just when you thought you've had your last inundation of head-bopping youthful indie bands, Southern California-based A Cursive Memory has thrown its hat in the ring, releasing its full-length debut album, "Changes."
The group of high school BFFs has yet to break its teenage years, but is no stranger to trials and victories of small-town tours and big-business deals. While its sound has scored the group musical backgrounds on shows such as MTV's "The Real World," "Changes" would better relate to So Cal summertime dramas and teen scenes.
A Cursive Memory, aptly named, has a knack for songs that you can't get out of your head - cursedly so due to its repetitive lyrics and overly simplistic melodies.
Memory's hit single, "Everything," not only spells out the word (remind you of a certain lip-syncing diva?), but builds a hand-clapping rhythm of Sesame-Street-pop that screams of sunshine and rainbows. It will either incite song singing or parodies of substitutions for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, perhaps A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G, by the end of the day.
A Cursive Memory is Vagrant Record's new answer to HelloGoodbye, but lacks the musical intellect to surpass the 15-minute mark. The debut album may symbolize the journey these boys have endured through their adolescence, but "Changes" shows little diversion from other bands in the indie/alternative genre.
The hooks are routine and the chorus is less than enthralling, singing lines such as "Oh my God, you're such a beautiful girl/what a wonderful day, I just hope it can stay." But with the help of its newly acquired Vagrant name plate, A Cursive Memory will be touring nationally this spring with bands such as Armor for Sleep and Saves the Day.
Seen most recently performing with Cartel at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, the group enthusiastically devotes its songs to the audience. Unfortunately, the music is better on vinyl than it is stage-side. However, the major saving grace for the foursome is bass player/keyboardist/vocalist Mark Borst Smith. With talent exceeding stage-right expectations, Smith has been seen playing the keyboard and bass at different beats, while simultaneously keeping up with the vox.
ACM is definitely fan-friendly but far from harmonious in concert, so if the be-bop of modern indie rock calls, save the $15 ticket and buy the $11 CD.
Overnight stardom may not be the immediate success of the band, though judging the capacity of recent local shows, the number of swooning teenagers could reap enough benefits to produce an encore album. But as the boys say, "Everything in this world is here today and gone tomorrow." And music is and always has been the tip of that pendulum.
Dedicated to its efforts to "break some hearts and climb some charts," as stated by founding member, Sean Profeta, A Cursive Memory will definitely be riding the wave.
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