Allan’s World of Music

The White Tie Affair - Walk This Way
14 May 2008, Joe @ 11:57 pm

The White Tie Affair is a heavily influenced pop band, almost a throwback to the boy bands of the 90’s, except not. In retrospect, they have taken all the catchy greatness of bands like FOB or Panic, mixed it with the groovy sequencings of Timbaland to produce a guilty pleasure to some, but really entertaining music for others.

Hailing from Chicago Illinois, these guys have taken pop music, and improved it ten fold (for myself at least). Perhaps the only band who can actually be considered mainstream pop that I really enjoy. The White Tie Affair offers a fast paced pop extravaganza that will hook you from the incredible sequencing job and energetic vocals. Hidden in this gem are more classic instruments such as the guitar, drums and keys, which all add to the punk-esqe side of things.

The album starts off with a very catchy party song in Allow Me To Introduce Myself…Mr Right. With obvious emphasis on sequencing, it is very action packed and dance oriented. The lyrics are fast paced, slightly witty, but mostly nonsense. The end result is a ridiculously addictive song that uses a lot of synthetic sounds over top aggressive guitar riffs and dance like drum beats. The chorus is reminiscent of dance pop songs from the 90’s that I’ll admit I hold a soft spot for.

The greatest aspect about The White Tie Affair is their knack for delivering a wide range of pop songs. The second track, The Letdown, is somewhat comparable to Allow Me To Introduce Myself…Mr. Right, but takes a slower more jazzy pace. It’s considerably more soulful but still creates very addictive hooks that are reminiscent of many today’s R&B singers. Again, really good production values, which leads to a very vibrant song, that takes on a very soft undertone. Following the trend of changing the paces, track three is quite the opposite, Candle (sick and tired).

Candle (sick and tired), is much more pop-punk oriented, with synths kept at a minimum, a greater use of guitars and a more classic rhythm. Simple but traditional sounding drums offer the finishing touches to this inspiring and warm pop-punk alternative. Much like other bands slow the pace of an album down with an acoustic jam, Candle (sick and tired), though very pop-punk, gives listeners a break from the usual jam packed sequencings of the rest of the album. The vocals are really welcoming, and overall the melody is subtle and nice, definitely showing variation in their work.

Scene Change is perhaps my favourite song off Walk This Way. With a ridiculously catchy sequenced beat, combined with a comparable vocal melody, the song creates a varied pace, which is why I love it so much. Scene Change begins with a laid back verse leading up to a much more aggressive chorus, where listeners will hear the added guitars and drums more clearly. Scene Change did a great job of keeping the punk portion of this band, yet allowed creative freedom for all the sequencing and synths. It’s a very creative song that has elements of the past mixed with the dance rock of today.

The rest of the album is generally much of the same, bit I say that very loosely. There’s no doubt that The White Tie Affair is a great pop band, but their songs are very different from one another. The first four tracks alone seemed to take on different themes, and although they all have that White Tie Affair swagger, there’s a lot of great variation. The White Tie Affair isn’t for everyone, but it definitely got me feeling nostalgic, yet optimistic for the music to come.

Check out their Myspace for official tour dates and album info.

The White Tie Affair - Candle (Sick And Tired)

The White Tie Affair – Scene Change

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