FESTIVA CD REVIEW: Tracey's Mend, "Blue Above The Wire"

Blue Above the Wire is Tracey's Mend's first full-length album and contains a collection of well-selected tracks that showcase the band's ability to please those looking for a soul-searching, heartwrenching rock ballad and satiate those who want to rock a bit more. They even have some songs that are smack dab in the middle of throwing up the horns and a letting a lovelorn sigh slip.

Unfortunately, this means they're trying to be everything to everyone who likes rock and the result is a generic ‘90s rock band sound, with just a slight foray into country.

"Harlem to Memphis" is a good example of the direction Tracey's Mend seems to naturally take. It's a solid song with great lyrics, a catchy little chorus and a guitar solo that impresses, but doesn't completely steal the show from Mendiola's emotional vocals. It also seems as though the production on this one track had more attention than any of the others on Blue. The spoken vocals in the background seem a bit corny. That would be the only thing I'd cut.

"Last Sunday" follows with an inviting guitar lead and a good melody. It's not quite a ballad, nor does it have face-melting guitar solos. This is one of the songs that has that touch of country or southern rock which really suits the band, and there's enough room in both rock and country genres for Tracey's Mend to straddle the two.

Tracey's Mend reminds me of one of those bands from the ‘90s who could've gone country, but hopped into the rock genre. One of the first bands that came to mind was 3 Doors Down, though it isn't a direct comparison. Mendiola's vocals seem either forced or lacking emotion in some of the tracks. His voice is a cross between the deep, even tone of Brad Roberts of Crash Trust Dummies and the singing style of Max Collins from Eve 6. But with a twang.

Some songs just didn't hold my attention and there were a few I would not add to a playlist. The chorus of "All Save But One" was a very different style for Mendiola, (he plays a bit with his vocal range, reaching some higher notes) which was actually kind of cool, but the bad grammar makes me cringe every time.

"Love is a Murderer" has metaphors that just don't make sense to me and the song itself is just a little boring. The booming crash in the background (is it a timpani or symbol or no, seriously, what is that?) is incredibly distracting and becomes an annoyance.

All of the musicians are consummate professionals. They know their instruments well and none overshadow the other. Each song can stand on its own, but if you were to toss this album on your mp3 player and hit shuffle, you'd still be able to recognize Tracey's Mend when a song played.

You're almost guaranteed a guitar lead, a typical formula for lyrics (1-2 verses, chorus, verse, chorus, breakdown, chorus) and a guitar solo in the expected place, which makes for a predictable album. So it'd be nice to see the band shake things up and change the placement of verses or choruses.

There are a few moments of social commentary in Blue, but not enough to offend anyone. The only recurring theme I caught was individuality. These guys don't want you to try to change them. Just let them be.

Changing Tracey's Mend is not something I'd want to do, I'd just want to gently nudge them toward the genre they seem to be flirting with - country.

Best song: Harlem to Memphis

Worst song: Love is a Murderer

3 out of 4 stars

Amy Nichol Smith is a freelance writer for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4420.