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Artist: The Drawing Room

Album: The Drawing Room

Label: Tooth & Nail

Release Date: 3/24/2009

Reviewer: Tyler Hess

Track Listing:

1. Keys (The Liaison)

2. The Garden of Even

3. June Carter Cat

4. Trip

5. Salt In My Lungs

6. The Hounds of Winter

7. Windsor for the Winter

8. Sick Jack

9. The Spy

10. Pocketwatch

11. Skeleton Key

12. Peddle

I guess that the gentlemen of Thousand Foot Krutch get bored when they aren’t on the road, as side projects abound, including this one coming from bass player, Joel Bruyere. The difference with this one, however, is that we haven’t really heard his vocals before, so this is still a pretty decent debut.

It doesn’t take long to tell that this is not the work of a novice. Despite the music being pretty basic pop rock that sounds like it came out of my childhood, there are a plethora of layers to give it a feel that there is always something going on. However, that intrigue falls away faster than a kid’s allowance when the ice cream truck drives by the neighborhood. At best, this is some kind of a poppy version of someone like Jesse Sprinkle. My interest fades away and isn’t easily brought back to attention. The dance beats aren’t fast enough to make me want to dance, the synths aren’t a good enough match to make up for it and the songs overall just don’t do much for me. The eighth track is the most redeemable of the bunch, called “Sick Jack”, and actually has a chorus that gets me to pay attention. “Skeleton Key”, at number eleven isn’t far behind, and is kind of fun, really. There are some bits and pieces scatter about, but not a cohesively great album.

Summary: When it comes down to it, this is a side project that will be purchased by devoted fans of TFK, those that want everything and anything to do with them. This will be a sentimental choice more than anything else for most. It isn’t really a happy record, but it really isn’t a sad album, but it is a moody bit of art that you might hear at a coffee shop someday, maybe.

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