The Wide
Paramount

Wide and relaxing landscapes are what we see on the cover of the debut album by the band called The Wide, they call that debut Paramount and one has to wonder if it is an album that is paramount to have in the record collection. And while this album may be a debut, the guys of the band are not debutants and have been around the business for quite a while. They claim that they make music that is authentic, not that I know how music can be anything but authentic but that is a matter for another discussion, meaningful, energetic indie rock/pop. The artwork isn’t too bad, I think it is rather nice actually and would look good as a vinyl in a record collection, but not mine and I am not really sure it is even released on vinyl.

In terms of the music I guess that indie pop/rock is a good description, wave-rock is another one they use in the press material. I think melodic soft rock is a good way to describe the album; the tempo is quite low overall and then they add some ballady stuff to that. Energetic is not really something I can say about this album, it feels a bit long and not very varied either – I think some of the songs feel a tad on the long side as well. But the production is good, and I like the sound but from a creative standpoint it isn’t the most exciting album I have ever reviewed.

Dramatic artwork, but the music is less dramatic. I think the songs could have more depth, more variation, be a bit shorter and more direct. But it is a good album nevertheless. I think that it is almost great in its best moments, the opening track is quite great but perhaps a bit long and I also think the track So In Love is another great track, classically styled greatness. But there are also some really dull tracks like the long ending title track that is really boring. And I also think that the second track Girl is way too repetitive to be really good. It is something of an up and down album, great in the best moments and quite boring in the worst. Had they done the tracks shorter and hence done the album shorter, it would have been something of an improvement to this good album.

Ending conclusions have to be that this is a decent album, these guys offer up some good melodic landscapes etc. Perhaps it is an album that will go down well with those who like a bit softer rock music and don’t need much in terms of energy or that sort of thing. So it is a good album but not one that feels paramount to have in the record collection.

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