The Weekly Coos

As I dove into the Toronto Indie band New West’s debut album, Based On A True Story…, I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve heard similar before. Though not an inherent parallel, what I kept getting reminded of is an older 2000s Alternative Rock that was a little narrow but loose enough through the tunnel to get by some of the weak spots. I saw the parallels in the performances, which bring this softening cadence that blends rawer emotional melodies into something more straight and triumphant. There is a tenderness that brings emphasis over its production, which keeps you slightly entangled with the music and words New West wants to deliver. It’s a smooth ride through varying melodies, where you feel yourself entrenched in a world they create, making you the main character maneuvering through instances that bring sentiments to the front of the stage. The self-reflexive music aims to find itself within avenues that hearten connectivity, even when the writing doesn’t help bolster some of the writing. It’s an album that focuses on the vocal synergy with the production, as the quality of some song’s writing, outside of its incorporation of themes, feels truncated with some simplicity in the production.

After placing us as the protagonist of the musical journey, with the opening track “Main Character,” one must let their mind wander through the topics New West wants to tackle as it the world and one’s relation to the little things – like ruminating on home now that you’ve ventured toward a brighter tomorrow in “Homecoming,” relaying that homesickness we get from being apart those we care, or playing to The Truman Show surface-layer plot on the eponymous track. “Homecoming,” in particular, comes at a significant point in Based On A True Story…, acting as this luminous contrast to “In My City,” which relegates the new aside to bring forth this reminder of home is where the heart is. Though changes do occur, the people and memories remain everlasting. It doesn’t have me question their direction, especially as they show their hand through these nuanced analogies and ideals, like the notion of turning a night out into a movie. “Movie For No Reason” is, in a way, a follow-up to “In My City,” as it takes that notion of being home, feeling refreshed, but just taking the opportunity to create more memories at night, which in this case is partying till you can’t debauch no more. 

Based On A True Story… has a few ballads and ballad-esque songs, some of which have direction but eventually becoming predominately bare bones, and you’re left in the middle, listening to see if the vocals bring anything forward for you to enjoy. “Death Proof” brings some ingenuity by adding more behind the piano keys, bolstering the sentiments they express in it, unlike “Retrograde,” where its directness mums out after a pleasant, late summer–bordering fall tones of the song “IYKYK,” where it’s minimalist built progression brings a foundational presence to give the overloaded acoustics definition. Again, a noticeable step about the previous track, “How You Been Lately,” where it feels like the brainchild of a song produced by The Fray and The Script. It’s good at what it does, but sometimes that isn’t enough to return. But the highs I’ve spoken about are something to chew on, especially with some of the fun, or expression of raw emotion, had with the performances, like the eclectic “Homecoming.” It makes that first half, and “IYKYK,” worth it.

When giving these positive notes, note the highs are high, but it may not be your cup of tea musically. Through the eventual downs, at least, the band has something to say and uniquely maneuvers you – it’s how it got set up in the beginning that makes the lows a forgetful disappointment, especially when it starts significantly great, giving you something to enjoy and admire. It drops off at the midway point, specifically after “Movie For No Reason,” which drives home what the song is relaying. It bolsters that with an equally unique instrumental and vocals, unlike “IYKYK,” where the vocals aren’t as pronounced despite a great production. With all these interconnecting parts that make it disappointing, it isn’t as consistent front-to-back, whether via production or the writing, like how “Death Proof” lessens the smooth progressions by some weak, one-dimensional writing or “Those Eyes,” which continues to follow a similar tempo and structure without batting much of an eye.

New West doesn’t entirely deliver something different than the norm, sometimes echoing the stylistic influences that modestly captivate or straightforward and uninventive. Some songs get symphonically woven, incorporating more classical strings to balance the scales between the varying moods taken, and this is a highlight where I was in awe. Heard effervescently through the songs “Main Character,” “Cold Tea,” and “IYKYK,” they are uniquely different, with one being more emphatic while another adding to the atmospheric textures on its surface. When it doesn’t, they are playing it safe with the alternative sound, never feeling like having that one tweak that makes them unique, like on “How You Been Lately.” Though New West has somewhat of an identity going for them as they guide you through this songwriter’s journey, it can play it safe with how they constructed some songs. It doesn’t take much of a next step to entwine you, and it’s a drawback since it doesn’t try to challenge the listener with something obtuse. Sometimes, you want the production to make you think about the implosion of sounds at full peak synergy.

Going through this New West album was moderately enjoyable, considering notions of discovering relatively new soundscapes, especially with the directions artists take. It may play it safe or narrow, but at least they have an identity and know to replicate it at great quality. Within that first few run of tracks are some I will likely return to, but at this given moment, so all I can do is recommend taking on a new adventure from some of the new work from more famous artists. Sometimes, the reward is there, even if it’s getting out of a comfort zone. Give it a chance, nad let me know what you think!