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With their penchant for Oscar Wilde quotes and inclusion in Wind-Up Records' lineup, a place normally reserved for post-grunge rockers and alt-metal groups, Company of Thieves know how to set themselves apart from the pop/rock pack. Musically, however, the band doesn't quite establish a unique personality with Ordinary Riches, originally released in 2007 as the band's independent debut. Singer Genevieve Schatz confidently captains the album's best number, "Oscar Wilde," with a mix of belty choruses and girlish verses, sighing through the high notes with breathy sex appeal. Meanwhile, guitarist Marc Walloch alternates between arpeggiated chords and swirling riffs, all of which he reprises throughout the record to diverse effect. Where the group falters, then, is in the actual songwriting, which yields several standout tracks ("Quiet on the Front," with its harmonica-filled intro, and the neo-jazz tune "In Passing") but also produces a good deal of alterna-rock filler. Few songs on Ordinary Riches are concise -- only two tracks conclude before the four-minute mark, and one does so with four scant seconds to spare -- which makes the filler songs all the more troublesome, as they often continue for upwards of five minutes. Had Company of Thieves reentered the studio on Wind-Up's dime, they may have left with more worthy partners to "Oscar Wilde." Instead, Ordinary Riches betrays its origins to its own detriment, since this is essentially a very good independent release swamped by major-label expectations.
CONDITION: New .Marked upc.
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Old Letters 5:41
2 In Passing 3:56
3 Oscar Wilde 4:42
4 Quiet on the Front 5:18
5 Pressure 4:42
6 Around the Block 3:38
7 Even in the Dark 4:46
8 Under the Umbrella 5:59
9 Past the Sleep 4:53
10 The Fire Song 4:04
11 The Tornado Song 4:59
12 New Letters 6:42
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