Acceptance
May 20, 2003
The Militia Group/Columbia/Red Distribution
Compared to the Seattle band's debut "Lost For Words", the sophomore release is a step forward with album highlight Permanent being a superbly crafted song that showcases this band's strength. Good, relatable lyrics with a driving sound and melodic arrangement that serves its emotive nature. The infectious Hold On is also worth mentioning as one of the record's better songs. There is another side to this EP though. The rest of the disc sounds a little TOO familiar. Songs like Seeing is Believing and Bleeding Heart could just as well be Jimmy Eat World songs from their "Bleed American" record and the title track has a very safe arrangement that could've been a song by any number of bands in the same spectrum of the music world. All of these songs, I should add, are executed very well and add to the experience of the EP.
"Black Lines To Battlefields" is by no means a bad record. In fact, it may very well be one of the stronger releases in the genre this year and it comes across very convincingly and the perceived familiarity makes it extremely accessible for fans of Jimmy Eat World, Anberlin, Dashboard Confessional, etc., which should allow Acceptance to grow their fanbase noticably. So while the band may need to come into its own further and add some creativity to their songs, this EP should solidify their status as one of the more promising bands in the alternative rock scene and give them the opportunity to explore and develop that own, original sound.