El - Soft Breezes
Rating: 7.2
Label: Fish Eye Studio
Release Date: September 4, 2004
Relevant Links: El’s Homepage
El has a dreamy pop-rock sound that some might label as “emo,” but since I think that term is dumb I’m not going to do that. The majority of the tracks on the album feature both acoustic guitar playing jangley chords and electric guitar playing reverb drenched leads, with rocking bass, drum, and keyboard support.
Vocalist, Kyo, has the sensitive “heart on my sleeve” guy delivery commonly found in a lot of “emo” bands, but he can also give some epic, intense performances (think Bono from U2), without venturing into the realm of screaming.
As for the tunes, this album as a whole, is pretty laid back and mellow. Nothing found here is going to the soundtrack to a high speed chase, but these are good tunes to listen to while having coffee on a Sunday morning. Tracks like, “캥거루를 위하여,” in particular sound like the kind of tunes that a guy at a coffee shop would play.
Sonically the band has some similarities to the more mellow Jimmy Eat World (”For Me This Is Heaven” as opposed to “Bleed American.”) The is especially true on “Hotel Africa,” (both versions), which mix drum machines and synths with the guitar, bass, and drums.
But the band these guys sound the most like is the Korean band Nell. El is basically Nell without an N and L, and aside from the similar names, the two bands have very similar sounds. It’s not a bad thing, just don’t be looking for either band to really rock your socks off.
