The Situation

The Situation split up after working on their debut album for many years. The album finally came out in 2006. here is a review of the album: _________________________ Culture Bunker _________________________ The Situation The Situation (Elephant Stone)These boys love the Brits. The Cure, The Smiths, T. Rex, the Happy Mondays - you name the band and its stamp can be found somewhere on this disc. Lead singer Christopher Tucker even sings like a Brit at times, and this is a bit strange to me considering the band is straight out of Philly. But, affected British accents notwithstanding, there's something delightfully old school about The Situation. These boys love the Canadians as well, or one in particular: Neil Young. Several of the songs are made up of simple guitar melodies and an accommodating harmonica, and track 3, "Pine Street," is about a broom stroke away from being an edgier reincarnation of Young's ballad-extraordinaire, "Harvest Moon." Though billed as a pop band, The Situation is clearly bringing something very classically anti-pop to the table. Tucker is a brilliant lyricist. His words are poems but without any characteristic pretension or heavy-handedness. I am lusting after these lines from "The Migrant (Living in Your Ear)," the last song on the disc: "Shadows roam the wall / The dying leaves announce the fall / The dust motes dance with one another / And talk about the belle of their ball." Other well-written songs, like "Amoralia" and "Black Cat Dice," are sure to be the harbingers of some pretty well-deserved success for this young band coming off of their first full-length. I give the members of The Situation a 9 out of 11 for not only giving me such an enjoyable listening experience, but for also being inventive enough to give human characteristics to dust motes.—Melissa Treolo (October 2006)