Argonaut - Prisoners To Ourselves

Argonaut

Prisoners To Ourselves
self-released; 2015

3.1 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Argonaut is a four-piece band comprised of Jason Eber (guitar/vocals), Josh Kenyon (lead guitar), Clark McMenemy (drums) and Carl Thomson (bass). The band recently released their debut effort entitled Prisoners to Ourselves and it has all the hallmarks of a band in their embryonic stage trying to find their way. Argonaut skips from style to style while searching for something that makes them unique. They go grandiose post-rock to punk and a couple of places in between.

The recording quality is about that of a demo. Eber’s vocals needed more treatment and the drums were often buried in the mix. That being said, a number of the songs were still enjoyable.

Prisoners to Ourselves starts with “Let It Rain,” which is a post-rock inspired instrumental piece. If you like this song - enjoy it because you won’t be treated to anything else that sounds like it. The band attempts to reach epic heights but gets a bit held back because of the aesthetics.

The next track is “Trapped” which is such a mixed bag from moment to moment. It’s promising and starts off engaging with good music and well-delivered vocals. Eber sings, “Leave me on my own again, It's me just me. Leave me on my own again, cut this from me. You caught me. We are prisoners to ourselves.” Unfortunately he steps out of his range when he sings, “We are trying to get our freedom back, and we are caught in a trap.” Luckily, this is the biggest cringe worthy misstep the singer has. The next song also has some sour moments from the vocalist but some of it could have been helped with basic production tricks.

“Cracked Face” is a funky, ‘70s soul song that blindsides you. It’s arguably the highlight of the album but makes no sense in context of the rest of the material. They end with a raw, ‘70s style punk song that is yet another deviation. This also happens to be one of the better vocal performances. Eber’s voice works quite well with the music.

Argonaut will probably want to have a conversation about what type of music they want to play. Prisoners to Ourselves leaves you scratching your head as what to expect from the band in the future. The band has some talent but they got some major tweaking to do in a number of areas if they want to build a solid foundation.

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