"in transit" is a 2002 release by the New York band Gutterstar.
The band is proficient with their instruments.
Songs like "asleep" show Gutterstar's ability to create moving melodies.
The CD offers more than one sound throughout.
The songs offer music that is complex.
Melody - 9
The album is full of unique melodies.
Gutterstar does an excellent job of keeping the melody progressing through the songs.
They do a good job of keeping the sound fresh through the songs.
"maybe" shows Gutterstar can create different melodies to mix up the sounds on the CD.
Overall the melodies are interesting.
The CD was able to keep my interest because of the melodies.
Arrangement - 9
Most of the CD was built off nice arrangements.
The band is able to use its instrumentation well.
Most of the songs are layered.
This creates a thick sound which adds cohesion.
The bands use off instruments makes all of the songs stronger.
The voicings of the instruments also adds to making the music more powerfull.
Passion - 8
The one thing that bothered me about the CD was the passion.
It is well crafted, but to me felt too orchestrated.
I would liked to have heard more raw emotion in the music.
Not that the music is soulless, but just needs to be less precise to show the human aspect.
Production Quality - 10
The production quality is very good.
It could as easily been a major record label release.
All of the instruments are clear.
Packaging - 10
Packaging is great.
Printed CD and case with insert.
"in transit" is an excellent indie release.
Gutterstar is an up and comming talent.
Their versatility is their strong suit.
Many bands look at making a CD with a couple of good songs and having the rest filler.
"in transit" proves that this is not Gutterstar's approach.
Each song is well crafted, and has a life of its own.
