There for Tomorrow- There for Tomorrow

ARTIST: There for Tomorrow

ALBUM: There for Tomorrow EP

LABEL: Hopeless Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 8-31-08

Perhaps the most important introductory point to make about There for Tomorrow is that anyone with an antipathy to the current emo scene is bound to hate them. That isn't to say that they're bad, quite the contrary in fact, but their style of music definitely places them in the same category that includes such emotive pop punk bands as Hawthorne Heights, Further Seems Forever, and Taking Back Sunday. Further cementing the connection is lead singer Maika Maile, who sounds conspicuously like a cross between Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance and Panic at the Disco's Brendan Urie, right down to a slick but melancholy boyishness that verges occasionally on treacly, as on "Remember When (Used to Be Used to It)" and "Addiction and Her Name." Get past the trendy surface touches, though, and this is a solid pop album, with quick but dreamy guitar effects running through "Deadlines" and "Pages," harder edge chords giving "Waiting" a touch punk rock street cred, and "Taking Chances" finishing things up with a more intense vocal approach, still affected but more raw. If you don't instantly cringe at the thought of mainstream emo, you'll be able to appreciate this EP for what it is: a promising and professional debut that happens to incorporate a lot of current trends from the alternative rock scene.

Check the band out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/therefortomorrow.