Artist description Honest, Catchy, Melodic Rock from the Twin Cities

Music Style Emotional Melodic Rock

Musical Influences The Get Up Kids, The Alkaline Trio, Jimmy Eat World, The Weakerthans, Saves the Day, Face to Face, Bad Religion, MU330, The Stereo

Similar Artists the Weakerthans, Jimmy Eat World

Artist History The Common Place formed after the breakup of 2 Minneapolis bands (open 24 hours and pilot to co-pilot) and is just getting things started with the release of this first EP "Every Forgotten Year"

Group Members Brendan and JT Viele, Joe Bernard, Josh Johnson, and Chris Amundsen

Albums Every Forgotten Year EP

Press Reviews This five-song EP paints a portrait of a youthful band, endlessly inspired by melodious punk rock and plaintive emo. Yet unlike the hordes of Get Up Kids wannabes, The Common Place compensates for the cheesier elements of emo and the stupider elements of hardcore via smart songwriting and precision playing. These kids have chops and they know when to use them and when to spare them. Consequently, they take run of the mill melodies but make them hummable, catchy, even memorable, by not lingering too long, not overnoodling through solos and not pushing their production. "Open Letter" is doubtless their most ambitious song, and while the recording of the vocal interplay with echo comes off a bit overdone, the song is still exceedingly adept in a pop sense -- perhaps even radio-ready. The band also switches up speeds, showing a knack for tracking their more thrashing punk songs alongside their yearning emo numbers. Album closer "On the Right Track" opens promisingly with cellos and an almost Smiths-ish guitar line, but is somewhat undone by vocal melodrama. Still, there's a spark of life to the Common Place that could someday make real the pun they clearly hope their name will engender. -J. Gabriel Boylan, splendidezine.com- This disc is like a big cotton bag with five frustrated monkeys stuck inside. With the removal of each monkey, you honestly have no idea what to expect from the monkey once it's removed from the bag. That said, this is a five song EP (23 minutes) that is crammed with loads of variety and talent from and and coming pop-act. None of the five songs sound remotely alike, with stretch only a couple of minutes, to the last one eclipsing at nearly eight. As a five piece, this band's sound is pretty complex, and there are some flashes of creativity though the use of a piano and cello. For a point of reference, SAVES THE DAY and a darker NEW FOUND GLORY would be pretty accurate, but the songwriting is far more intricate, and well developed. The lead vocals stand out well in front of the music, and the band uses smartly place backup vocals on the fourth song, "Choke," which has some decidely hardcore influences. One of the neat things this band features is the use of an acoustic guitar, coupled with an electric guitar in a few parts, adding a more dynamic effect. The final song, "On the Right Track" is a bit long-winded, but as a closer, it finishes up this release on a solid note. While I'm not instantly roped into this band's pop sensibilities, this is a disc that I could get used to listening often. -Jordan Baker, Pastepunk.com-

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

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