In a scene compiled of pop-rock bands, it’s almost too confusing to keep up with each act, and more specifically, find a band worthy of becoming “famous.” It’s easy to be overlooked on Fueled By Ramen’s pop-fueled roster featuring Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and Panic at the Disco. However, Forgive Durden, a band that has been on the label for some time now, is hoping to finally break out with their new disc, “Razia’s Shadow: A Musical.”
Thomas Dutton, the group’s only founding member, joined forces with his brother Paul to create an album that follows a storyline – complete with narration and conversation within the lyrics. Dutton gathered some of his closest friends to appear on the disc to play specific characters to which he created. Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter, Max Bemis of Say Anything, Chris Conley of Saves the Day, and Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco are just some of the all-star artists that appear on the disc.
The disc opens up with epic instrumentation complete with a string orchestra and Gatsby’s American Dream’s Rudy Gajadhar behind the drum set. Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou begins his narration with “This is the beginning and the end. The rise and the fall.”
The storyline flows through each track flawlessly. The lyrics, at times, are cheesy — “So you’re Ahrima/Nice to finally meet ya.” Other times, though, the lyrics are filled with memorable quotes worthy of away messages on AIM or a Facebook status update – “It seems to me like every star agreed to meet right over our heads tonight, to flex their bright.”
Overall, the album is exciting and makes a bigger impact each time you listen all the way through. It is recommended to listen to it several times over to officially understand the storyline, which will not be explained here. It is up to a person’s own interpretation and discovery to fully get it.
The real gems are the fourth and fifth tracks, featuring Bemis and Conley, respectively. Both tracks feature two amazing vocalists in the genre, and Dutton sings along with both characters as he turns to evil. They also feature powerful non-traditional choruses in which Dutton gets to sing along with the characters. Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound plays Princess Anhura, the love interest of Dutton’s Adakias. Their beautiful duet glows on “It’s True Love.” The two characters sing as they quickly fall in love, but both have their own dark secrets.
Dutton was inspired by viral marketing and used it to his advantage. He created a website for the disc nearly two months ago but placed small cards with dates on them and nothing more. Each week he would release two to three characters with a small clip of their track and album art. Those interested exploded on the message boards to figure out which character was played by which vocalist since Dutton creatively didn’t match anyone up until the last week.
It is very possible that Forgive Durden are about to step out into the spotlight after the release of this record. They will no longer be “that other band” on the label. “Razia’s Shadow” is truly a work of art, and as long as people are responsive, Dutton has successfully marketed the Internet generation and the band will have a bright future.
