The Alternate Routes CD Review

The Alternate Routes Review
Grade: A-


If you think contemporary electric guitars and country music don’t mix, then perhaps it’s time to hit the stores, pick up A Sucker’s Dream, and just let the music roll, because The Alternate Routes know how to make their style work.

Song #1 is bound to catch attention as vocalist Tim Warren exclaims with his loud band members, “On and on we whisper/tell me how to scream/I’m been screaming like a dreamer/who can’t fall back asleep/tell me about the road you’re on/and maybe we could meet/tell me about the road you’re on/and on and on we whisper.”

Warren also has a talent that involves alternating his voice between a classic rock era scream and a county music drawl. Don’t ask just how it works – just know that it really works.

There’s a softer side to the band as the album continues on its merry way. You know how Nickelback pretends to be hardcore rock and yet constantly slip in a softie song? Forget them; The Alternate Routes slides smoothly down their scale rather than leapfrogging between loud and soft.

But no will really notice a change in music quality. And since “Ain’t No Secret” is the essence of sappy love song, minus most of the sticky goo, the soft touch in background isn’t taking away from the track.

Not to mention “Quiet Highway Road” and its story needs something to match the title and the birds chirping in its beginning minute. Hardcore rock ‘n’ roll seems like a contrast not worth making.

“All That I See”, the third track, is the musical equivalent of The Fray’s “How To Save A Life”. Emotionally, it’s a cheerier. Not quite as solemn, even with the lines, “Well we all need a place where we’re allowed to slow down/and we’re allowed to hide out on the weekends/400 miles/I’ll be home in a while/but I’m never on time....”

If there’s a limit to the amount of softer rock/country that can be stood within a time frame, don’t worry – the group launches back in a harder routine and rocks themselves out as the end comes near, promising to end in a bang as their voices mingle and harmonize with their musical product.

Only, well, they don’t. They alternate between the hardcore and softie. So if people expect ginormous rocking endings, there might be a wave of disappointment. Instead, the last song starts off with a solid beat, some drums and some calm chords, and the lyrics: “Well he’s waiting at the bus stop, seven years old/ breathing on his collar in the freezing cold/He doesn’t know a thing about minimum wage...” And goes on to form the story of a soldier, in tribute perhaps?

The finale’s title is “A Better Way”, and it’s definitely going to hit as many heart chords as the rest of the album. It ends with a slow fade-out, giving time to absorb any messages listeners care to receive.

If you think ‘the future is nothing new’…well, maybe the song by the same title agrees, but at least it’s doing so in style.