The Arms of Someone New: Promise (Digital)

Product Description

From CMJ Magazine, December, 1988: The Arms of Someone New formed in 1983, the brainchild of Steve Jones (student at the time and now a professor and also a member of Area) and Mel Eberle (formerly of the First Things) when the Champaign, IL pair recorded a demo and released a cassette. A few tapes and two albums later, AOSN has released Promise, a considerable progression and a fine production. Following a short Beatle-esque intro to the LP, “No City Fun” is dark and pensive, much like the feeling of the Cure’s Faith LP. Promise is hardly a funereal procession, though, as “Hollywood” hoists the mood with its very uplifting sound, overlaying voices, a Joy Division-gone-New-Order bassline, drum tracks and driving guitar resonance. “Here Comes Everything” is an incredibly danceable blend of guitar-drenched textures, and “Every Seventh Wave” moves like a pressure wave. Promise also has a Felt-ish feel at times (songs like “Stars End”), but where Felt albums are sometimes disappointingly unchanging, AOSN challenges conformity by mixing styles, but without sacrificing unity. By mingling believably lacy and sumptuous moments with ghostly textures, Promise is as simple and as complex as a promise can be. Promise.