Local Review: Breezeway – It Goes Like This

Breezeway
It Goes Like This

Self-Released
Street: 06.01
Breezeway = Foals + The National + Witch

When I first listened through this It Goes Like This, it seemed like it was all over the place—lots of different sounds with lots of different ideas. But going through it again, I realized that Breezeway were purposely taking on a big challenge. “Hot Legs,” the opening track, mashes together distortion and nasally tones, offering a cogent idea of what the rest of the record could sound like. However, by the following track, “Cool Morning Light”—which brings on a Foals-esque cadence—I was completely lost. It’s not until the third song, “Ocean Tides,” that I began to understand that this is a spiritual album with a raw amount of anger. It’s a compilation that likes to work with soft-spoken moods traveling at a rough velocity that’s going to peak the mixing board.

Breezeway aim to squeeze different textures under one sleeve. Most of the time, when a band puts out a record like this, it’s their first release or they just didn’t have a strong enough idea of what they were doing. But on It Goes Like This, it’s intentional. Every quirky maneuver sounds premeditated, like they are trying to mix up our perception of what an album should sound like, similarly to how Quentin Tarantino challenged the traditional movie plot structure by throwing a bunch of notecards in the air.

There are moments where I suspected a lack of originality—“The One Without a Name” sounds like the guitarist was learning how to play Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” but then wrote a song instead. “Disappointment” made me realize that the band might be trying to hang on the cusps of Foals a little too much. There are also times where the record gets a bit dramatic and a bit self-indulgent.

That said, anyone could sit through this album and get something substantial from it. It’s interesting, dynamic and takes on a mix of sounds that most modern acts wouldn’t dare to play. Whatever challenge these guys take on next, I’ll be sure to give it a listen. (Muse Music, 06.11) –Austin Doty