You have heard them at U.Va. fraternity parties, formals, colleges on the east coast and at Dance Marathon, and now you can hear them on their latest album. The Bureau, with their sophomore release, "Next Year," captures the energy and charisma that they deliver in their live performances.
The band is comprised of five students: four hailing from the University and one, lead singer Eric Morris, from Loyola College in Maryland. The five members formed the band in high school in New Jersey. Now, The Bureau has become a staple of the University's social scene with gigs and performances nearly every weekend.
In live performances, The Bureau usually offers a wide array of covers, from classic oldies to modern rock to Britney Spears. The band, however, also produces and writes its own music that rivals its cover ability. In fact, its own songs spark more energy than the covers with honest and thoughtful lyrics, accompanied with catchy riffs and a lively musical style.
The album, as a whole, focuses on the trials and tribulations of love, mostly with the good and bad emotions of independence experienced after a breakup. Songs like "I Don't Have You," and "Enough" explore the pain and anger of lost love. The more spontaneous and naive lyrics of "Betsy," however, counteract the sorrow with a budding relationship.
Morris leads a majority of the songs with a sense of authority and dominance. On some tracks, his voice takes on a vigorous quality that resonates throughout the verses. This can especially be heard on the album's opening track, "Let Go." Morris captivates the listener with his masterful command of his musical range and register.
Jordan Brown, a fourth-year College student and the other front man of the band, provides guitar accompaniment and a moving piano solo during the title song, "Next Year." He also takes the helm as lead singer for "Betsy." Brown, bassist Robert Ferreri, and Morris take the credit for the song writing on the album. The drummer, Kyle Cedermark, holds the album together and has grown considerably as a musician from their previous release.
The emotional core of this album stems definitively from the title track, "Next Year," written by Brown. Every listener, and especially college students, will find this song hitting close to home, for it focuses on the uncertainty of the future. "I wake up every day in a place / Where no one knows my name / And walk through crowds of people praying / Someday everything will change." The song explores the universal fear of insecurity. Issues about leaving college, leaving friends and not knowing about life in the future is frightening, and The Bureau captures that anxiety beautifully in this song.
Other songs on the album return to the bittersweet feelings remaining after a relationship. For example, "Enough" chastises a former lover for all of the pain that she has caused. "So don't you dare come running back after what you've put me through / Don't you dare come running back, because I've had enough of you." A similar emotion of longing for a lost love can be heard in "I Don't Have You," where the speaker has everything except the girl he loves.
The catchiest track from the album is "More Than Faith," with its appealing chorus and amazing piano accompaniment. The lyrics promote the speaker's need for something by saying, "And I might be alone but I'm strong enough to say / That I need a little more than faith to hold on."
For the most part, the songs are emotionally heartfelt, but sometimes they unfortunately can seem a little generic or contrived. This can be heard on "Goodbye" and "I Don't Have You." While still respectable, they lack the emotional depth that other songs present.
The Bureau is comparable to any leading recording artist of the same nature -- a remarkable feat from a primarily college band. Their songs express universal emotion and combine an often witty sense of lyrical charm. For more information about the band, how to purchase their latest album, or how to find upcoming events, visit their Website at www.bureaumusic.com.
No matter what, this will definitely not be the last time you'll hear from The Bureau.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
