Isle Of View

Isle Of View Gentle Firefly Radio Posted By: Take The Risk - Rock Review Website
There weren’t too many outstanding pop-punk releases in 2005 so far, so the more I’m happy that Baltimore’s Isle Of View do pretty much everything right on their sophomore debut full-length “Gentle Firefly Radio”.
At least good pop-punk only needs killer-hooks and well written melodies - sounds easy, but it ain’t. Fortunately, Isle Of View seem to know about the importance of both and deliver plenty of it, while never bathing too deep into the genre-typical clichés. Sure, the 13 tracks on here are all cheesy and you‘ll also find some girl-related topics in the booklet, but I’m all for it when the music is written well and includes a satisfying amount of outstanding songs. What I like most about Isle Of View’s material is the subtle, but nevertheless audible Beach Boys (power-)pop influence, that runs through pretty much the entire album (not unlike the disbanded and awfully underrated This Radiant Boy). There’s a lot of sugar in the mix, but the often flooring melodies and super-catchy vocal-patterns save the music from any kind of boredom. Instead IOV easily switch from (mainly) up-tempo beats to calmer moments without the slightest break. Tim Tucker’s vocals definitely have a special character, since the words go over his lips with much heart and an extra amount of passion. Various songs on here leave a damn great impression, like the straight “He Who Laughs Last”, “Blue Ribbon Shoes” or the bitter-sweet ballad “Tombstone”. The chorus of “Private Island” is just irresistible and shows Tucker in best condition and exactly the same counts for the beautiful “Angel Wings”. Honestly, I don’t know why “Ransom” was picked for video-rotation, since it’s obviously not as outstanding as for example “Private Island”, but maybe that’s a matter of personal taste. Whatsoever, the concluding acoustic song “Driving On Train Tracks” has a beautiful campfire-atmosphere going on and blows similar attempts by other bands straight out of the water. Compared to other releases this effort is rather free of unnecessary gloss, what also counts for the appropriate recording, that is clear and powerful, but never too polished. The booklet design isn’t overly stunning, but I definitely enjoy the cover-artwork, that somehow fits to the music well!
To me “Gentle Firefly Radio” is definitely the ultimate album for long summer nights and relaxed front-porch barbecues. With audible passion, appropriate diversity, top-notch vocals and killer-hooks this album simply sticks out.
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