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THE SEQUENCE



Last Updated: 12/9/2009

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Status: Single
City: Cypress
State: California
Country: US
Signup Date: 4/27/2007

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Monday, April 06, 2009 



"In Lights" Album Review
ABSOLUTEPUNK.NET
by Steve Henderson

The Sequence – In Lights EP

Release Date: January 13, 2009

Record Label: Unsigned



The loss of a lead singer can often be the death knell of a band. In cases where it isn’t, well, sometimes listeners wish it had been. The cards were certainly stacked against The Sequence when Matt Carmichael decided to leave the band. The group had just started gaining momentum on a few sites across the web, had a song played on MTV, and just started gaining that little spark that got people talking. Of course, Carmichael was a very solid vocalist in his own right, and his work on the band’s debut, Simplify, was a large part of its appeal. The ability of an unsigned band to fill such a vacancy always raises more problems than solutions, so it is quite a relief to see that with Travis Van Hoff, The Sequence are now just as good, if not better, than they have ever been.



Fundamentally, the foursome have all the right ingredients to do just what they set out to do – make extremely catchy pop-rock. They have the crunchy guitars, driving percussion, and soaring vocal melodies all needed to anchor a solid-gold pop gem. Need convincing? Just check out “All In” – it sounds like the type of song Autopilot Off might have made on a new album mixed in with a little bit of Jimmy Eat World. The result ends up being sonically huge and devilishly catchy, and would sound right at home on any mainstream media outlet. From there, the guys slow it down a bit and wax a little sappy for the next two tracks. “1982” is an earnest, sweeping track that effectively switches between candlelit verses and anthemic choruses without losing a step, and is practically begging for “poignant film moment” placement. “Till I Die” ups the emo ante considerably more with its string track and crisp acoustic guitar. It gets a little too thick perhaps for its own good, and might be a throwaway under different circumstances, but Van Hoff’s sensitivity is just too convincing to be dismissed.



To assess the final track, I have to be honest that I generally hate, hate, hate covers. And this recent trend of Band X (usually a screamo act) trying to be ironic by covering “Umbrella” or some garbage is particularly disturbing. So when I saw that The Sequence had covered “Disturbia” for their coda, I did my best not to gag or descend into dry heaves. Now, that said, The Sequence’s cover is an unequivocal winner. It sounds less like self-parody and more like an honest homage to what is an undeniable pop smash, and that sort of attitude appears to help the band succeed here. Bursts of guitar guitar crunch and perfectly arranged vocals make this rendition better than the original, and will likely prove to be superior to The Cab’s (settle down, FBR disciples).



In Lights is another piece of evidence to suggest that The Sequence is a band that doesn’t just deserve to be signed, they deserve to be noticed. This release would do well to eschew one of the slower tunes for another high-octane rock number, but regardless, nothing here is “bad” or unlistenable. The Sequence deserve to get to the next level in our scene, and In Lights is certainly a suitable vessel to make that happen.

Go HERE to read the entire review!



6:12 PM 
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008 

Current mood:  jolly
WWHHAAAAATTTTTT'SSSSSSS UPPPPPPPPP!!
Welcome to the new site! Feel free to take some time to check everything out. We've added a lot of cool new features that will help you all stay in contact with us like Twitter, our AIM names, and if you click on our individual pictures it will take you straight to our personal myspaces. How cool is that?!? So feel free to add us. If you have any personal questions about our gear, recording, or anything like that, your questions have a better chance of getting answered if you send them to our personal pages, so that's another reason to add us.
Also, we've been getting A LOT of messages lately, which is awesome, but since this myspace is run entirely by us, it can get difficult to reply to every message. But rest assure we'll do our best to get back at ya!

Now, I bet you're all wondering when the new CD comes out...well the answer is: we don't know yet! Ha! But we will soon, we've been working around the clock to get everything prepared. We're slated for a January release, so once it's set in stone, we'll update it here. Then, "In Lights" will be available through iTunes (for digital downloaders) and Smartpunk (for hard copies). The tracklisting is still in the works, but it's gonna have 4 tracks, including the one currently on our page and our cover of "Disturbia" by Rihanna. Once we finalize the tracklisting, you'll all be the first to know.

So up until the release of our album, we're gonna be doing something kinda special to keep ya'll entertained until the release of "In Lights". Every monday we'll be posting a brand new song off of "In Lights" up until the very last week when we post the long awaited "Disturbia" cover! We'll also post a new blog with all the current updates about shows, merch, etc. We have a strong feeling that you're all really gonna like "In Lights"!

Well, that's about it guys and gals...if you have any recommendations for the site, comment it here and we'll do our best to make it happen! Or if you have any more ideas for us to stay in contact with you, let us know. We're so incredibly excited for this release and for 2009...we've been working so hard and now it's time to play some shows and rock out with all of you!! Take care, have an amazing holiday, and be sure to check back every monday for a new song and updates!

- The Sequence

p.s. - So what do you all think of our new track "All In"? Leave your comments below.
Currently listening:
Whisper War
By The Cab
Release date: 2008-04-29
8:22 AM 
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