Review: Nural – ‘Entitlement’

Posted: March 8th, 2009
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ DownloadPunk.com Release Date: February 3rd, 2009 via Hopeless Records
	Nural is: Kyle Castellani (Vocals) Doug Allen (Guitar) Charley Hoy (Guitar) Kyle Black (Bass) Aaron Breding (Drums)

Overview: In late 2000, while rap-infused nu-metal was enjoying its last hoorah, five guys out of La Crescenta, California were starting up a band determined to create something a little bit out of the ordinary. Their vision was named Nural, and the boys scratched and clawed their way to a record deal with Hopeless Records in 2003. After half a decade as Nural, the quintet released its debut album through Hopeless in 2005 called ‘The Weight of the World’. Fueled by increasing underground popularity, Nural participated in the Vans Warped Tour and had their single “Tension” picked up by a Warped Tour compilation album released in conjunction with the summer-long tour. Nural then unceremoniously slipped under the radar, quietly beginning work on a new album. On February 3, Nural broke their multi-year silence by announcing the release of their sophomore album ‘Entitlement‘, available exclusively on DownloadPunk.com.

The Good: With ‘Entitlement‘, Nural serves up another cocktail of cutting edge alternative rock, while declaratively boasting a sparkling, user-friendly toast. “The Hits Keep Coming” brings it with an upbeat, stampeding crunch, a lyrically empowering tune brushed with bursts of sincere sensitivity. “Stop Me When You’ve Had Enough” thrives on a perky, Head Automatica-ish chug, and on the atmospheric, sweeping “Physics”, Nural weds bass-throbbing verses with vibrant, towering choruses in a happy unity. “Up Against” shuffles and accentuates its way across a broad, sunny landscape, while a mid-tempo charmer that goes by “Say What You Will” is a cordial, moonstruck dreamboat. Nural weren’t bullshitting when they titled “Surefire”, a spicy meatball whose bustling, groove-laden spine simmers from every angle. “I’ve Been Here Before” is a moody and ambient power-pop foray, whose riffs gradually evolve from sugarcoated to sizzling. A frolicking, rollicking, happy-go-lucky skip, “Me Or the Music” swings and sways, embossing downbeats with piano lunges that give the track a huge, Fall Out Boy-inspired pop appeal. “You’ve Got Some Nerve” is as sharp and scorching as its name might suggest, indirectly latching on to your senses and becoming an immediate favorite. ‘Entitlement‘ coasts off into bliss riding the uplifting melodies, pulsating backbeats and crafty keyboard work of the lucid “Sweet Oblivion”.

The Bad: ‘Entitlement‘ is a very tight record. Nural sound more refined and focused than they ever have. However it is Nural’s crispness that is also their downfall. Because the sound of ‘Entitlement‘ is so precise, its core flaw is more easily identifiable. There’s no sense in nitpicking ‘Entitlement‘ because Nural do an ace job of coloring inside the lines and making sure the colors don’t bleed together. Problems with ‘Entitlement‘ only become evident in “the bigger picture”, where you can see just how cozy Nural’s sound can get with a wealth of other bands. Going through ‘Entitlement‘, I made a list of groups who share this type of work: Paramore (listen to “Stop Me When You’ve Had Enough” and tell me that isn’t the male version of “That’s What You Get”), Head Automatica, Anberlin, Sugarcult, Dead Poetic, Fall Out Boy, City Sleeps, Hedley, July For Kings, The Panic Division, Denver Harbor, Over It. That’s a mighty long list of bands I can CLEARLY hear shining through for a ten track album.

Bottomline: ‘Entitlement‘ is another installment of solid, no frills emotive alt. rock from Nural. The boys don’t waver from their strengths and skills, letting what they’re good at dictate the sound of ‘Entitlement‘. Think of Nural’s ‘Entitlement‘ as Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams, the closer for the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies team that made it to the World Series. Williams wasn’t the last one standing in the end, as his pitch to Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter was smacked for a homerun, crowning the Blue Jays champions and leaving the Phillies as the team that was “good, but not good enough”. Mitch Williams’ number one pitch was his fastball, which is what he threw to Carter. The pitch was good, not good enough, but at least Williams stuck to his guns and relied on what he knew best, just as Nural do with ‘Entitlement‘.

TuneLab Rating: 7 out of 10