Emotionalpunk.com
Media Review
Music Quality: 9.0
Production: 7.0
Originality: 7.0
Tracklisting
2. Black Out
3. Spiders
4. Rock N Roll
5. Pretend Your Alive
6. PandaMiranda
7. Down Towards The Healing
8. The Monster
9. Angels With Enemies
10. Radiology
11. Candy
12. It Won't Last
13. Paper Scars
Their vocals might be akin to that of Jeremy Enigk, Thom Yorke, and Ryan Sleeping At Last, but this band knows how to do the conventional rock sound perfectly. Tremendous chords and hooks behind the eerie vocal style make "Pretend You're Alive" a heavy rock CD..sorta.
Their live act is supposedly super-compelling, and I can see clearly why. The songs on record sound filled with energy and passion, as well as diversity; songs like "Blackout" sound like pop-anthems straight off the Sleeping At Last disc where songs like "PandaMiranda" sound like they're right off "The Rising Tide" (Sunny Day Real Estate). I love the band's ability to instantly and totally switch styles, which results in satisfactions from fans of all genres.
Though some of the songs might come across as cheese-pop, the disc as a whole has a compellingly innovative nature that I really dug. It came out awhile ago, but you still have a chance to pick this disc up..so do it, especially if you can see them live!