Cover Up is an album by the now defunct Orange County, California band, Name Taken. It might shock people who understand my music taste to know it’s an emo/punk album. But then again, this might not shock you at all. I stumbled across this album a few years ago and always seem to find myself listening to it when nothing else will do. It just never seems to get old.

Name Taken sound like your average punk band: distorted guitars, intense drumming and the kind of vocals you would expect in a punk record, but they have a unique style and energy about their songs that I really can’t quite distinguish. The overall album is somewhat bassy, which gives a sort of power and heaviness to the tracks. The vocals, despite being considered the whiny ‘emo’ type, never get annoying and the songs are very melodic, energetic and well structured. ‘Cover Up’, the title track, has this sexy sexy middle section where the music seems to cool off for a break in the song. It’s just too bad that it’s so short, because it’s quite mesmerising.

The lyrics make a large part of this album for me. They’re clever and uplifting in an off-beat kind of way. Lines like “We can drive far away, we can forget the way back, we can start over” and “Cover up, wrap your wrists in gauze, fill your heart with cause, if it’s real or not” are some of my favorites which I fully admit to singing along with. Sure they can be a little cheesy at times, but the songs as a whole is what I’m listening to, not just the lyrics.

Of course people might not share, appreciate or even understand the effect this album has had on me because of the timing involved on hearing this album, but it’s still great for those cold winter nights when you’re alone, sipping a warm drink by the radiator. It makes you think of all the good times in life and how even when things are their worst, it’s never actually as bad as it may seem. Plus it makes excellent driving music.

Mp3: “Cover Up”
Mp3: “Panic”
Name Taken on Myspace

Tags: Name Taken

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under Band Ramble, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.