CD Review – Elias – Lasting Distraction

CD Cover for Elias' Lasting Distraction, photo courtesy of the band and Wax Records.

CD Review – Elias – Lasting Distraction

by Jade Sperry

The trio of Brian Healy (vocals, guitars and piano), Rob Tornroos (lead guitars) and Stefan Tavares (drums) form one dynamic band. Formed in Vancouver BC Canada in 2005, they released a self titled EP debut in 2006 which has been followed up by the CD Lasting Distraction, released in November 2009 on Wax Records.

The CD starts with the song “Thousand Pieces” which is a well written song that has a high amount of emotion in Brian’s vocals. Stefan’s drumming is solid which gives this song a groove to work with. I love the piano and how it weaves the melody with the drums while Rob’s guitars come in slowly and build toward the end of the song. “Lasting Distraction” reminds me musically of a Toronto band called The Decade of Sleep. Excellent guitar work by Rob and solid drumming by Stefan make this song sound smooth and rocking all at the same time. The guitar melodies are well paced and fast. “All We Want” is by far the best song musically. The chemistry of this band is evident in this song. Well written and mixed this song is fast, choppy and paced well. Brian’s vocals are solid and pleading in some parts which overall gives this CD a good vibe. In the first three songs, I hear the influences of the Stone Roses and Coldplay in particular, but personally I feel that the music is much better than any British band from that era. Musically they far surpass bands that have influenced them such as The Stone Roses, Blur, Oasis and Coldplay.

Other standout songs are “Dropouts” which speaks of youth homelessness/homelessness in general, and “Giving Up Never Felt So Good” which musically reminds me of Blur. Overall, this is a very good CD which gives the band a really good start to a promising career.

As of this writing, Elias is on tour with other bands and the tour is called Snocore. You can find the tour dates on their Myspace page.

You can find the band at their various links:

Myspace

Twitter