I am starting to think that there must be an unwritten rule in the punk-nouveau by-laws stating that every lead singer must sound thin and scrappy with a voice that projects like a nasal laser beam. Down to Earth Approach is no exception to the rule, whose lead singer Jonathan Lullo gives Chris Conley a run for his poppy punkafied money on the band’s debut album, Another Intervention. Based out of Batavia, New York, this standard guitar/bass/drums quad is out to give those of you who love this stuff exactly what you want: straightforward, vociferous, guitar-heavy pseudo punk rock songs, clearly reminiscent of Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional, Thrice…you know the drill. Not surprisingly, the band shares the same label as some of their modern counterparts: L.A.’s Vagrant Records (www.vagrant.com).
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this band is their complete and utter embodiment of all things pop. According to the band’s website, www.downtoearthapproach.com, lead singer Jonathan Lullo states, “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel; right now we just want to write some really good pop songs. We don’t want to change the music scene, we just want to have our own place in it.” Lullo seems to have a good grip on the situation; though formulaic and not entirely unheard of, the group does a hell of a job at creating a buoyant and structured sound.
This music reminds me of past days when the sun was always shining, high school was fun, my parents paid for everything, and I had nary a care in the world. Oh wait, that wasn’t me, which was some other kid from San Diego. In any case, the nü-punk/pop stylings of Down to Earth Approach are so perfectly in their element that I almost feel like I could be that kid from San Diego!
Down to Earth Approach will be playing on June 7th, at Rock Island in Denver.
