The duo of Nicholas Kelley and Nicholas Papaleo have only been together for a year, but have pulled together a debut effort that is polished, wildly entertaining, and that reaches into several areas of music. The are piano-driven, epic soundscapes and math-rock moments alike. Though just six tracks "Cold Comes To Claim" covers an impressive amount of ground. The opener "Beware" is a call to order for the listener as it shifts and morphs throughout its five-plus minutes. The track is grand and stripped-down all in the matter of minutes.
If I had to draw comparisons to Brontosaurus I would reluctantly say Death Cab For Cutie or possibly Cold War Kids. However, I do feel Brontosaurus has managed to cover more ground that Cold War Kids. The second track on the LP is "Bloodlines", and it begins with a classical guitar solo and then builds and broods through the labored melodies this duo has created. My favorite on the album is "Designed Disabled", mainly because of the effects they have put on the vocals. I feel it is one of the more inventive tracks on the album. "Cold Comes To Claim" will be released on June 14th.
Brontosaurus is departing on an East Coast tour on June 14th that will end here in Chicago on July 7th with a free (with rsvp, rsvp@emptybottle.com) show at Empty Bottle with Color Radio.