The Go Station
Passion Before Function

(Edge Delay)

First Appeared in The Music Box, February 2008, Volume 15, #2

Written by Melissa Stroh

Thu February 28, 2008, 09:00 AM CST

Considering the hundreds of artists that are flooding listeners’ ears on a daily basis via radio, TV, and the internet, it’s hard to keep them all compartmentalized. At the end of the day, most of it bleeds together to form a hectic mix of R&B, country, and alternative rock. Unfortunately, The Go Station is one of those bands that just doesn’t distinguish itself enough to break away from the pack.

Passion Before Function, The Go Station’s debut, sounds like everything else on the radio these days. It has neither distinction nor flair. Even lead singer Doug Levy’s voice is reminiscent of earlier outfits, and he owes a particular debt to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. In short, the effort doesn’t feel much like a debut at all. Instead, it sounds like a recycled mix of top 40 hits.

The initial promise of All Together Now, Passion Before Function’s opening cut, is quickly dashed once Levy opens his mouth to sing trite lines like, "Watch our egos touch gloves and come out done." Not only are the lyrics stale and confusing, but the music also is equally redundant and boring. The result is that the album frequently sounds like a collection of b-sides from Green Day or Train.

The Go Station continues to reach new lows with songs like Not Enough and Down Street. Once again, the former tune employs laughable lyrics, though the latter track at least begins with a bit of hope because its brief, electric guitar intro sounds so refreshing. Once Levy starts to sing, however, his monotonic vocals kill whatever possibility of being decent that the song had.

Passion Before Function concludes with When I’m Gone, which clocks in at more than six minutes in length, making it the longest song on the album. Thankfully, it also is one of the set’s better tracks. While Levy’s vocals continue to be lacking, the music fits the mood, and the lyrics aren’t so terribly commonplace that they ruin the effect.

Overall, The Go Station has to grow up before it releases any more music. The ensemble has yet to find its own sound, and it’s obvious that this is holding it back. With songs like When I’m Gone, however, there does seem to be some hope for this New York-based band. Nevertheless, the fact remains that The Go Station has a long haul in front of itself before it can create music that it can call its own.

Passion Before Function is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!

Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2008 The Music Box