PaLE - 'In the Time of Dangerous Men'

PaLE’s second release, In the Time of Dangerous Men, could finally launch the rockers from Houston, Texas into iPods everywhere.

“Bad Intel” is a full-blast opener that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the record. “Catastrophic Skies” is a wondrous dark epic that was supposed to be on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, but was cut at the last minute.

The best track, “That Sinking Feeling,” is a no-holds-barred account of their recent string of career setbacks, featuring lead singer Calvin Stanley’s powerhouse vocals, which shows no signs of bitterness or self-pity.

Stanley, who’s also the band’s principal songwriter, says on the band’s website, “I try to write thematically in terms of lyrics and music, like chapters in a book.” His approach is evident on songs such as “Hushed Tones for Chosen Ones,” which begins, “They call me a quiet kid/ but I’ve been watching you,” and draws you in like reading a great opening line in a novel.

Grammy Award-winning producer Steve Christensen clearly understands PaLE’s progressive rock sound. Each track has a dreamy quality to it, but there’s also an impressive amount of musicianship among bassist Stephen Wesson, guitarist Robb Moore and drummer Travis Middor. They often play fast and heavy on songs such as “Our Lone Star Shines,” but it doesn’t sound like an endless stream of noise.

Dangerous’s only fault is that same dream-like quality to their songs can also work against them. For example, on “Bazooka,” there is such a long gap between the vocals and the instrumentals that it becomes a struggle to listen to until Stanley’s vocals kick in once again.

PaLE got its name from a line of poetry that reads, “Life is a pale representation of what lies ahead.” The only thing that I see that lies ahead for them is an additional following to their devoted followers at their celebrated club shows. They could even show up at the Grammys and end up surprising everyone with a win like their counterparts, Arcade Fire.

In the Time of Dangerous Men is available at www.palerocks.com and on iTunes!

Dangerous will be in retail stores on June 21.