The Torn Images released a full length album called Reviver last November. The ten tracks put together by this California based alternative, indie rock band come after two well received EP and hopefully marks the beginning of a long and successful career.

The album opens with the electric guitar driven of “The Drifting”, the mid-tempo, steady beat of which wraps the track in a feeling, or, well, drifting along for a ride. It feels a little like rock songs that graces the airwaves in the 1980s. The following “Mantle of Disguise” picks up the tempo a little and features a short instrumental section a little past the halfway mark. The distortions that bleed into the punk flavoured third track in its last third reflect the sense of loss of control and falling into the void that the title—“Out of Control (Into the Void)—implies. Something about it made me think of a movie scene in which a confused person hops into a car and drives at ever increasing speed in order to run away from their problems.

What immediately comes to mind when the first notes of “Nearly Lost You” is Nirvana; is it a relatively simple track in that is features only vocals and electric guitars, giving it an instrumental feel. “Life On A Standstill” is a well named track, as its gentle and introspective quality brings the album to a standstill of sorts. It could have also made for a great closing track, but it seems to mark instead a shift in the album that is carried through for the most part until the end of the album.

The slow, rock beginning of “Aimless Breath” melds into a punk flavoured chorus that captures the angst of the melody. “Blind Fascination” brings back the steady, heavy, electric guitar opening but remains on the slower, more angst laden side of things; the vocals come through as particularly dark and emotional. Interestingly enough, “Never Be The Same Again” is also quite emotion laden but in a different way—it’s less angsty than its predecessor, with the lyrics and the melody conveying most of the pain that inspired the song in the first place. Penultimate “The Elusive Vagabond” kicks into high gear before the gentler good-bye of “World of Meaning”.

Reviver is a solid contribution to the indie rock genre that blends together classic influences such as Nirvana and a sound unique to the band. More information about the band is available on the band’s official website. The album is available for streaming on SoundCloud.

Pictures provided by Independent Music Promotions.  First published on Blogcritics.