monoblogue music: “Wasted Time” by Future Thrills

After nearly five years of trying, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to review local music. And considering this exercise was instituted in no small part from my long-running “Weekend of local rock” series, it’s amazing that it took over a hundred reviews before I did one where I could easily see the band in person.

So back in late December I was minding my own business and perusing my e-mail box when up popped an e-mail press release from this band. I suspect I’m on their mailing list because Future Thrills bassist Chris Slavens is a fellow writer who I’ve known awhile, but regardless I thought it would be a good time to add a local element to monoblogue music since part of the intent of Weekend of local rock all along was to promote area music and this is the extension.

So what did I think of this four-song EP, recorded just up the road in Baltimore? Let’s just say this package generally has the sound you would hope to hear in an up-and-coming rock band.

The opening song Believe provides a great introduction, not just to the album but to Future Thrills’ influences as well. What begins as a relatively standard-grade post-punk alternative track takes several interesting turns through tempo changes and a detour into some reggae style before wrapping itself up. They avoid falling into some of the traps that make the sound stale.

It’s not quite pulled off as well with Stuck on You, the second track and the one of the quartet that is perhaps the weakest link. The song has a good harmony to it, but seems to be more of a paint-by-numbers effort than the others.

Charging into Bide My Time, though, the band picks up steam with a little more heavy sound, although it still lies well within the range of mainstream rock. (Mainstream rock, that is, that doesn’t have the over-dependence on bass, drums, and rap influence plaguing the “active rock” genre.)

If you like the punk side of rock, the final song borrows the most from the frenetic pace from which that brand is known. Next Episode may leave you breathless, but it also leaves you wondering where the other eight or ten songs are. Given the fact Future Thrills has been together less than a year (although three of the four played together in an earlier band called Sidecar Falcon) it’s a good way to introduce themselves and a rather enjoyable way to begin the review year.

If the band is to be commended on its good music, Future Thrills should also be commended for finding a good producer (in this case a guy named Justin Day, who runs New Noise Recording), outsourcing something that often causes trouble for DIY bands who don’t have that unbiased ear to know when something just isn’t right. This is about as tightly-produced as a garage-style band can be without it affecting their sound in a negative way.

I always implore the readers to listen for themselves, but locals can go one better: Future Thrills has its EP release party on January 26 at Trader Lee’s in Ocean City. (It’s a good venue that has bittersweet memories for me.) So if you can make it out I encourage it. Support your local original music!

Next week I have the first of my regular reviews already in a queue, so it’s a busy start to 2019 for this tiny little department of monoblogue.

One thought on “monoblogue music: “Wasted Time” by Future Thrills”

  1. I ran sound for about ten years and yes, local bands have a lot to offer. Funny story…..I ran sound for bands who would cover newer music before I had a chance to hear it sung by the original band. Often times the band played the song so well that when I heard the original, I didn’t think it sounded quite right. Some of the bands were so tight and so good, I couldn’t understand why a label wouldn’t pick them up. Borne in the Indy movement-now there’s a fun topic for discussion……

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