Republic Of Letters – Stories

San Diego indie rock band Republic of Letters have dropped their debut full-length album, Stories, which was produced by Brian Karscig (Louis XIV). The mild Brit pop rock influences and cool, melancholic indie vibes permeate throughout this 10-track release, as the band squeeze out some easy-on-the-ear, radio-friendly pearlers, such as ‘Lost Chord’, ‘Stories’ and ‘Running From’ – yet, I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’ve heard this all before, countless times over the past decade or so. From an originality point of view, Stories is a major downer and feels more like a tribute to ROL’s favourite bands, rather than a forceful declaration of intent. It falls into the trap which many debuts do, as it feels like the awkward new kid at a school, who hover around in the background, trying to hang with the cool peeps and attempting to just blend in, instead of standing out and being an individual. I have no doubt that a lot of these tracks will find rotation on commercial radio stations – that isn’t the issue – but I’m left to wonder if the tracks will receive attention, because they remind the playlist compiler of another band, or if they’re genuinely impressed by ROL. Annoyingly safe, unmoving and predictable, Republic of Letters’ Stories leaves a lot to be desired. Just another indie release…

Tracklist
01. Lost Chord
02. Stories
03. Entre Chien Et Loup (Restless Hour)
04. Long Way Down
05. Running From
06. Painted Hour
07. Karma
08. Sounds Of Fury
09. Endless Drive
10. Kate

http://www.myspace.com/republicofletters