ALAKRITY – Whatever Happened to Good TV?
(2008 Spurgatory)
Beloit’s Alakrity are barely out of high school and already they have an impressive resume. In 2007 they won the Madison regional Launchpad competition and that landed them on the Madison Area Music Awards stage. In 2008 they won the statewide competition outright. They have played festivals around the country, including Summerfest. Whatever Happened to Good TV , their first full-length, was released last November and several songs from it have been placed on television. The album was expertly produced and mixed by Dan Needham in Brentwood, Tennessee. Needham has produced some big names including Michael McDonald, the Neville Brothers, Amy Grant, Chris Tomlin, Garth Brooks, Kathy Mattea, and numerous others.
Alakrity are not a band who wear their Christian leanings too prominently on their sleeves and Whatever Happened to Good TV is just plain kick-ass punk-pop that is timed perfectly to ride the current wave of success of Green Day. If you want angst, this is not going to be your cup of tea, however. The album pops with smart production and excellent arrangements. If Alakrity doesn’t blow up in the Christian rock arena soon, I’ll say seven “Hail Mary’s” as pennance for predicting just that.
Alakrity has set the bar high for themselves in terms of living up to this album in performance, however, and this is where they will have to prove themselves. There lots of syncopated phrases and complicated vocal parts that will be a challenge to reproduce so slickly onstage. But the boys have faith in themselves (as well as the Almighty) and the faith of those closest to them in their management, families and record label.
The standout track is a cover of Petra‘s “Beyond Belief” with Petra vocalist John Schlitt guesting. He doesn’t dominate the track though, and Alakrity’s three-part vocals really shine here and, frankly, all over this album. The guitar solo is also a killer. Every track is hook-laden, sticky ear candy and at under forty minutes (and eleven tracks) leaves you wanting more. They show their age a bit on “Good Luck, We’re All Counting on You” and the bonus track, a pogo-ed-up version of the Power Rangers theme song, the latter coming off as pretty humorous, but this is where they’re at. The segue between “Wait Up” and “Seven Minutes After” is a brilliant piece of production. The acoustic numbers excel as well, allowing their vocal talents to come to the fore.
Alakrity’s song “Wait Up” will be released nationwide to Christian rock radio on 6/19
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