Album Review: Paint — Where We Are Today
Ryan Bromsgrove
Opinion Editor
Sep 07, 2011
Paint
Where We Are Today
Independent
paintband.com
Smooth, prodding guitar drives the frantically energetic “Boomerang,” opening the third full-length studio album from Toronto rock band Paint. Guitar effects are freely used throughout, adding texture without ever getting in the way. The same attitude pervades the rest of the record, resulting in a solid and confident melodic rock album that contains almost nothing to hate.
However singer and guitarist Robb Johannes occasionally quivers into vocal territory that sounds a little too much like Raine Maida from fellow Toronto band Our Lady Peace. While you can hardly blame someone for having a similar voice to an established mainstream name, it does sometimes feel distracting. But most of the time, Johannes sounds like he’s in total control of the music, effortlessly slipping between mild exasperation to yearning to demanding — all on just one track — perfectly complemented by the flexible guitar work in the background. The lyrics and vocals never dwell upon one emotion or style for too long, skilfully avoiding the deadly fate of boring the listener. Start to finish, the album sounds right.
If there’s anything that Where We Are Today fails to do, it’s probably that it doesn’t particularly stand out from the modern rock crowd. Despite 10 solid tracks that would sound at home on any rock radio station, there’s nothing that strikes you as the band’s own distinctive sound. But that doesn’t matter enough to justify ignoring the CD — pick it up and enjoy it anyway.
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