The gorgeous
Cars-vs.-
Dog's Eye View pop of
Curbside Service made its spectacular debut on
I Packed My Bags a Year in Advance, one of the catchiest albums of 2001. Blending synthesizer, grungy guitar, punk dynamics, and cute little melodies together into a pleasant blend, the band has much more up its sleeve than one would expect. They manage to flash their abilities as rockers ("Sun Sets to You"), as balladeers ("Shouting Match"), and as punks ("Dear Radio") throughout the album, rarely getting stuck in a rut. "A Harbored Distance" may be the best song here; it's a sad letter to singer Franklin Sammons' parents about why he's leaving town for college. Here, his blend of naïve teen poetry and clever insight comes together into a wonderful set of lyrics ("On Saturday night the bottle and I discuss our lives/And it seems to be he knows so much more than me") while the music is dead on for the message put across.
Curbside Service is a great pop band that really shows a lot of promise on their debut. They may not be that original, but they have enough catchy songs to keep their momentum going long after this album. ~ Bradley Torreano