Reviews

City Sleeps sound nothing like I thought they would. On the back cover of Not An Angel, the Atlanta um-rockers look like a bunch of Avenged Sevenfold video extra's, but they lack any consistent form of metal or hardcore in sound. Instead, these faux metal heads actually sound more like Yellowcard mixed with Story Of the Year. The songs on the band's debut album, Not An Angel, are intriguing and get your adrenaline pumping, however, after the first few songs the entire album starts to sound like one big mess of progressive pop anthems trying to play themselves off as gritty rock ballads.

Giving credit when credit is due, singer Ely Dye has a pretty good vocal range and starts off the album with a chill. One of the best songs on Not An Angel, "Heaven," is a soft, melodic ballad that tingles your spine. It's lyrics touch on religious themes and Dye's voice is addictive. "Heaven" is so good I'm ready to see it become the theme song to an ABC romance/drama series.

"Prototype" is another great track on Not An Angel, thanks to Dye's voice, which touches the more screamo, buzz type genre before switching back into slowed up, quirky pop singing. The song is jumpy and gets your blood pumping, its lyrics are even fun to sing along to; "I can't see the sun, now it's blue." Deep meanings and metaphors? Maybe, but who cares, it's a fun catchy line I cant get out of my head.

"Andrea" is a song about (I'm guessing) a Hollywood-Hills backstabbing lesbian who stole someone's girlfriend - "Andrea came and stole my girl with a just a kiss." Not sure what this song is touching on, but it's fun to make up a story about this twisted girl Andrea. Aside from Andrea the girl, "Andrea" the track is the band's attempt at melodic hardcore, which they sort of pull off thanks to Dye's outstanding vocal scope.

"Not An Angel," the title track to the band's debut album, starts off with some lyrics that sound like lines dropped out of an old ‘NSync record. If you can ignore the line "there's a girl with a lollipop on my mind," then maybe you can get through the rest of the song, which isn't all that bad. Dye's voice is clear cutting and the guitar work done by guitarists Adriel Garcia and Milo are colorful and provide more depth to this airy post-pop anthem.

The only other track on the album that stood out was "I Can't Make You Love Me," a heart touching, love infused ballad that starts off with a display of Dye's powerful vocals and post-pop rock meshing bass frequencies by bassist Brady Allen. The lyrics of this song again, are very catchy and make this track stand out; it's alternative pop radio's dream come true.

Most of Not An Angel does contain cheesy lyrics and sweet pop rock anthems sugary enough to give you a cavity. If you see City Sleeps and think you're going to get some thrashing metal riffs assaulting your ear, you're sadly mistaken. What you may get is some pleasing, shrilling vocals on behalf of Dye. It is an undeniably fun record...if you're looking for hidden meanings and something to play for your 14-year-old sister who thinks Fall Out Boy is cool.