Once upon a time Unifier were called Future Ghosts – until they were threatened with legal action by a Chicago band with the same name.
The band, who hail from North Carolina, may have had to undergo a hasty name change before the release of Colorado, but surely they can console themselves with the fact that any publicity is good publicity when you’ve got a debut album to promote.
The first two tracks “Crush” and ‘Traps” could practically pass as the same generic pop-rock standard, although the latter does throw in some brief respite with an interesting drum/handclap moment.
The awful title of third track “Parasite Lost” is outdone only by the cringe-inducing “oo-oo-oo” backing vocals, while singer Aslan Freeman’s phrasing on “Bitter? Better” could have been lifted straight from Placebo’s “Every You Every Me”.
The muted vocals on “Shadows” are in danger of being drowned out by a cacophony of guitar and drums, however the song comes with a catchy enough chorus to make it a commercial radio single contender.
In truth though, there’s little to separate track from track on Colorado.
The album blends into one homogenous, albeit slickly produced, mass. At 12 tracks, it’s also much too long given that the songs are virtually indistinguishable from one another.
With Colorado, Unifier have well and truly stuck to tried-and-tested rock territory. Walls of heavy drumming, minor chord guitar riffs, harmonised vocal choruses – it’s Alternative Rock 101, and the band are slavishly devoted pupils.
Although they get an A+ for adhering to the rulebook, they score an F for creativity.
