Music Reviews - Duality by Ra Paper Walls by Yellowcard

Duality by Ra
I first saw Ra live a few years back as an opening band for Disturbed. They did a fantastic job that night and I’m surprised it took me this long to finally pick up an album of theirs. They have been getting quite a bit of airplay with “Fallen Angels” on Sirius satellite radio. In the mood for some rock, I decided to give Duality a listen. The disc starts out strong, but weakens near the end of the album. Overall, it’s an enjoyable experience. They rock along the same vein as Disturbed and Staind, but without the screaming, and instead include some Middle Eastern-esque sounds and style.

Solid Tracks: “Fallen Angels” – “Take Me Away” – “I Lost Everything Today” – “The Only One” – “Superman” – “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
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Paper Walls by Yellowcard
This is another solid release by the alternative band, Yellowcard. Paper Walls continues on with the band’s same signature sound – light punk/emo with a touch of the violin for sweet, sweet flavor. Some people criticize the band for sounding like every other light punk band out there – and the vocals do – but the violin and catchy tunes make Yellowcard stand slightly apart from the crowd. Paper Walls is far enough away that I have no problem listening to this disc over and over again.

Solid Tracks: “Shrink the World” – “Keeper” – “Light Up the Sky” – “Five Becomes Four” – “You and Me and One Spotlight” – “Cut Me Mick” – “Paper Walls”

Bleh! Track: “Dear Bobbie” – A horrible old person talks throughout this otherwise nice track. The stupid shaky voice simply ruins everything! This is my singular complaint with the album.