In Avandguard’s biography, the band constantly uses reference points to describe their career,
claiming to have started out playing on the same Seattle stages as Alice in Chains, recording
in the same studio as Steve Miller, and being encouraged by Scott McCaughey of R.E.M. to
keep on truckin’. It follows suit, then, that their music is also full of musical references, often
crowding out any sense of the originality.
Mike Kondol, the brains and brawn behind Avandguard, is the sole performer on the album, playing
all the instruments, singing, producing, composing the music, and—along with Todd Tisdale—penning
all the lyrics. The thirteen songs (there are fourteen listed, but "Monopolist", track 14, is mysteriously
non-existent) that make up the group’s independently released debut, "Greener", stumble about through
the land of influences, making frequent stops in Bob Dylan Land, James Taylor Alley, and the Blue Oyster
Cult Used Riff Junkyard. Kondol scoops up to notes with the kind of country charm we’ve come to love
in artists such as Tom Petty. Kondol’s singing is the kind of anemic, almost drunk, strained crooning that
you just don’t hear much anymore, but that might have put Avandguard on the map a few decades ago. Except
for the overtly poppy drum loops, that is.
The album isn’t all bad, of course. Bob Dylan did sell a lot of records. The opener, "Piece of Heaven", is an
inspirational, mellow kind of piece that could serve as the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon in the
country. "Mellow" is a good word to describe much of the Seattle based singer/songwriter’s music, though
he does attempt to venture out into different territory on several tracks, with varying levels of success. "Calculated"
sounds like some sort of interesting Dylan / Sugar Ray car wreck. "Close" sees the group rock out a little more,
conjuring up some mid 90’s sloppy alternative country phantoms. "Daddy" is one of the songs that really dates the
album, making Kondol sound like a sappy James Taylor imitator. "Ola" is Avandguard’s shot at a rollicking Mexican
cantina number, and actually ends up being one of the disc’s more enjoyable and silly moments. "We say ‘ola.’ We
drink rum and cola," Kondol proclaims.
With it’s mostly pleasant mix of acoustic and electric alternative folk pop, "Greener", goes to places we’ve been before,
though it still hits upon a few catchy hooks. At times, the guitar playing is a little below par, and the album sometimes
has problems with tape hiss and clipping (specifically the bass on songs like "Close"), but it’s definitely listenable. Easy
on the ears, but nothing spectacular.
