Thursday, December 19, 2013

Concert Review: TEAM


TEAM is a four-member band from Dallas, Texas. They opened up for Third Eye Blind Monday night at the Crystal Ballroom. I had been unable to find out who was opening in advance, so I had no expectations.

With the first song, "Come To My House", it was a little reminiscent of "Space Age Love Song", so I thought the sound was going to influenced overall by 80's-era New Wave, but that really wasn't the case. There were all sorts of different influences involved throughout the night. One thing I did not pick up on at the concert, but did listening to the CD, is that it feels like there are hints of Hawai'i in "Am I Alive"; that without actually using slack-key guitar or that style of chanting, you remember them.

I take that as a sign of them being really open to music in its entirety, which made them a good match for Third Eye Blind. For the overall sound, the band lists itself as indie/rock, which I still tend to think of as alternative. The mood is often downbeat and moving, with a sympathetic understanding of the human condition.

Perhaps because of the sincerity that is felt in the music, it seems like they are playing really straightforward, without a lot of embellishments. However, the more closely you listen, the more you find that there are many little touches here are there, with different things being done with vocals or with keyboard, or whatever is called for, and none of them are overpowering, but they are effective.

I was able to speak with the singer briefly after the show, and he said they didn't have a lot out there on the internet, but they did have a CD. He undersold a little. First of all, their release date shows as December 3rd, 2013, which is brand spanking new, but in addition to three songs they have four bonus singles, and seven tracks on a first CD is two more than average. They also have two pretty high-quality videos out there (for "Am I Alive" and "Human War Machine"). That is a pretty strong freshman offering.

Unfortunately they do not have a video for "Come To My House" yet, you can listen to it on their web site, along with the four bonus singles, so really everything but "On My Way" and "Light In The Sky", and those aren't bad odds.

Definitely worth checking out.




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