Album Review: The Moderate - The Rest is Up to You

On their first full length album, local troubadours and former Three Stars subjects, The Moderate do exactly what a band should when expanding their recorded catalog: add other dimensions to their sound. All of the songs from their AM/FM EP appear on The Rest Is Up to You, but where sadness seemed to be the predominant emotion on the EP, the eight new tracks show that The Moderate are capable of fleshing out their emotional and musical palette. Not all of the love here is lost and not all of the influences are located below the Mason/Dixon line, making this an album that should raise The Moderate's profile, at least within the metro area, if not also beyond it.

The album opens strong with the title track, which seems somewhat lighter than what we've come to expect from The Moderate. It sacrifices none of Jim Dempsey's emotion, but sets it to a more simplistic and indie rock inspired melody. That less is more aesthetic comes back on tracks like "Untitled," but the band has chops and is not hesitant to show them off. They are admitted fans of The Grateful Dead and in songs such as "Lost, Boy," their extended jammy interplay recalls that influence. More often than not, though, the band's technical prowess appears in unexpected spurts that keep the listener on their toes. There might be a quick drum fill here, an unlikely four second guitar solo there and it keeps the band outside of the dreaded middle of the road.