Spiders and Webs
The Alternates
Luxury Wafers

“Spiders and Webs,” an EP by rock band The Alternates, could be described both as pleasantly surprising and disappointing. On the one hand, it’s always a wonderful surprise to hear a largely unknown band release good music. That being said, “Spiders and Webs” failed to entirely cash in on The Alternates’ potential.

The EP starts off extremely well with “The Modern Way,” a song that transforms from acoustic rock ballad to a more rollicking rock song. It laments the modern age’s ethics, and how the planet has suffered as a result of vices such as a desire for profit: “All the forests are being cut to the ground / To make paper bags … the modern way.” It’s a heartfelt and well-written song, and it sets the bar pretty high for the rest of the CD.

Unfortunately, the EP drags over the course of the following three songs: “Changing Course,” “Metamorphosis” and “Nature of the Mind.” All three are very long – longer than they needed to be to get their point across. The shortest of the three clocks in at 4:56 and the longest at 7:21.

It should be said that these songs are not necessarily bad. But they do all tend to sound a bit similar, and when they combine to form almost 20 minutes of music, that results in a tiring listen. This repetitiveness could be due to the fact that most of the album’s sound is focused on lyrics, with instruments providing more of a base of sound than riffs, though there are some solid guitar solos on the album.

Luckily, the album revs back into gear for the final two songs. “Spiders and Webs” is the edgiest of the set, and is the best song on the album. Complete with a catchy riff, this song is another indicator of The Alternates’ potential as a great rock band – potential that can still be filled in future releases.

“Slow and Steady” rounds out the album well with solid, echoing rock. It also has a bit of a sharp edge, much like “Spiders and Webs.” The bad is at its best when it plays with an edge.

The Alternates have all the tools to be a great rock band. They’ve got excellent songwriting (though it would be good for the lyrics to be a bit less preachy on the next release), a frontman with an excellent voice and clear musical skill. Though the EP “Spiders and Webs” becomes repetitive at times and is not a complete success, it certainly warrants The Alternates more attention in the future.

“Stuff From the Shelf” is a Spotlight blog series in which Daily Bruin A&E reviews the albums and games that have been sent to us for review over the years.