Bellevue: The Road to Recovery

Kingston, Ontario born and now Toronto based rock band Bellevue aren’t ready for the big time yet, but this album does have the makings of some interesting and promising material for the future. After a decent “I’ve Been Meaning To Get Therapy”, the band hit pay dirt with the quirky but nice “Friendship” that singer and guitarist Brent Hough nails perfectly. From there, Bellevue hit a homer with the slightly faster, up-tempo electro-pop of “One Two Three” that is incredibly easy on the ears. That isn’t to say they are the ideals of power pop. A listen of the downbeat and somewhat depressing “Fake Your Own Death” that features some female harmonies which will only drive that point home. Most of this record is indie rock 101, with “Bitter & Blue” having a certain trace of the Seattle scene, albeit with more keyboards and synthesizers. Think of Dinosaur Jr. but with J. Mascis opting for the ivories instead of a raging, crazed guitar solo. One of the highlights has to be the short and sweet “Tear My Heart Out” and the equally stellar and punchy, crisp “Bombs” which has some bang to it. The only miscue might be the slow, waltz-ish “This Little Island” that falls flat and seems like Bellevue’s forcing the issue.