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Call it an occupational hazard, I suppose. When you write about music, you find you have a whole group of New Best Friends and an ever-growing collection of demo discs from bands who, for the most part, will never go any further in their music careers. I still have what they called "tapes" in the 1980's from local "new wave" bands who went on to pursue brilliant careers in retail management, banking and law. It wasn't that they were terrible musicians-- they just didn't understand that jamming and recording are separate entities. Every once in a very great while, when going through your one-offs, you stumble upon a disc that demands you pay attention. The freshman effort from the Dallas-based Wishlist, Life's Design of Mind, is such a disc. Produced by Casey Diiorio ( Bowling For Soup), this five-song EP is piano-driven pop balladry reminiscent of Keane, or Coldplay in their lighter moments. Even on a casual listen, you immediately realize that the Wishlist has no agenda beyond delivering a well-crafted package of romantic reminisces. That in no way implies that Life's Design of Mind falls victim to schmaltz-- quite the opposite. Despite its somewhat unwieldy title, this debut is artful without being artsy in its decidedly urban vignettes of coffee shop-flavored romantic angst. What bandmates Kevin Layne (vocals, piano), Alex Hastings (guitar), Rich Williams (bass) and Jonny Mack (drums) have encapsulated the uncertainty and promise of love and commitment in a quintet of hook-laden tunes. It's date music with an edge. -Ray Ellis, BlogCritics.org, CultureSalad.BlogSpot.com FROM THE BAND Life's Design Of Mind, the freshman effort by Dallas outfit The Wishlist takes listeners on an effortless journey, mixing rare musical maturity with a dash of childish hope. Raised in a small east Texas town, songwriter Kevin Layne reveals a past rich in rock roots with tragedy looming left and right. Layne scribed the five tracks reflecting on a rock tour gone right and a romance gone wrong. Spending time with Coldplay's Chris Martin while managing a fledgling indie tour, Layne decided to focus his guitar talent into a piano project, thus The Wishlist was born. Layne's perspective on stardom and failure touch on dread, "Like a star without a name, it burns so bright before it fades away...", "Is this all a waste of time? The beginning of the end..." and promise, "There's no proper reaction, 'cause you are all I imagined..." What seems to be a catch twenty-two for others turns into a catchy tune for The Wishlist whose knack for lyrical darkness compliments a very bright take on piano-centric indie rock. The Wishlist's aversion to being pigeonholed as piano rock blooms into the Strokes meets Ryan Adams "Reflections Of Me" where the group flexes their guitar pop muscle, only to take another departure with "Nova," a bouncy trip featuring brilliant harmonies and stylized guitar. "Life's Design of Mind," the title track, introduces every element of The Wishlist with a touching and listenable ballad. "Perfect Portrait" and "This Is Love" capture the essence of The Wishlist's live performance with melodic movement, pop sensibility, and groove. The Wishlist recorded the EP with Bowling For Soup producer Casey Diiorio whose credits include the 2002 Grammy Nominated "Girl All The Bad Guys Want." Matt Pence, Dallas indie hero and drummer for Centro-Matic (Triggers and Trash Heaps) mastered Life's Design Of Mind. - The Wishlist ALBUM REVIEW: LIFE'S DESIGN OF MIND BY THE WISHLIST The Wishlist’s five-song debut, Life’s Design Of Mind, boasts at least a few memorable, if not great, tracks. However, there are also a couple of awkward moments on the album, when it is unclear what kind of band The Wishlist intends to be. The majority of the time, their music could be classified as charming piano rock, but occasionally it edges towards predictable, top 40 alternative. Such is the case with “Reflections Of Me,†the second track and my least favorite. The first fifteen seconds are promising (the intro actually sounds a little like Bloc Party), but when the lead singer joins in with the angst-ridden line, “I’m drowning in a sea found in between my ego and my insecurities,†it kind of ruins the fun. Want to be a reviewer? TexasGigs reviews are written by volunteers who want to share their knowledge and passion with other local enthusiasts. Anyone can write a review-- You can instantly post a comment on anything on the site, and for shows and movies, that might be in the form of a review. If you want to write more regularly, with a blog or your reviews appearing in the "stories" section, drop us a line. Then again, if we’re being honest here, that brand of self-criticism is found all over the radio these days, so it’s not as if The Wishlist is doing anything new or wrong by jumping on the bandwagon, which might, in itself, be part of the problem. Life’s Design Of Mind doesn’t always feel terribly original. But just when the album is in danger of being uninteresting, The Wishlist finds its rightful place in the piano rock genre. “Nova†has that irresistible, Coldplay-esque appeal generated by soaring piano, dreamy guitar, and tight harmonies. Similarly enchanting are the last two songs, the title track and “This Is Love.†The Wishlist’s softer moments are their most winning, and it’s only when they stray from that formula that they falter. Even still, a critical listener may not find anything new here. But the music is accessible enough that the average listener (who doesn’t necessarily care about originality) will be more than satisfied. - Caroline North, TexasGigs.com, June 16, 2006 INFO DEPOT MANAGER ROCKS OUT IN THE WISHLIST Everything, he remembers, began in a small room with really loud music. On a cold evening last January, Rich Williams and his friend and former Blue Hotel bandmate Jonny Mack readied themselves for a trip to Denton. They loaded the bass guitar, two bass cabinets, an amp and a full drumset - about 500 pounds of equipment - into Mack's Honda Civic and drove off. Forty minutes later, Mack and Williams parked the car, sagging from its heavy load, in front of an ordinary house on McCormack Street. Kevin Layne and Alex Hastings were waiting inside with a full-sized piano and guitars. Mack assembled his drum set, and Williams tuned his bass. In a cramped, smoke-filled room littered with beer bottles, a space heater and an ashtray full of cigarette butts, The Wishlist was born. "It was like love at first sight," Mack recalled. The approximately eight-month-old band features Layne on lead vocals and piano, Hastings on guitar, Williams on bass and Mack on drums. They compare their music to that of mainstream groups Coldplay and Keane. However, The Wishlist also emphasizes their departure from the usual singer-songwriter-on-the-piano setup, such as Ben Folds or Elton John. The band tours with an antique 300-pound electric grand piano that detaches into two pieces, the same used by U2. "We hated the idea that so few bands had latched onto the idea of the piano being the main instrument and not just the accessory to a pretty song," Williams said. "We do like to keep the rock 'n' roll aspect of it," Hasting added. "It's not just all pretty stuff." Though Hastings and Thornton played together previously and usually initiate the songwriting process, the band members say they work as a whole, from centerpiece piano to the background drums. "It's not like a food triangle where Kevin's at the top and everything trickles down and I'm at the end," Mack said. "It's more like the Knights of the Round Table, we're all equal." The band members, who are all in their early to late 20s, juggle both jobs and The Wishlist. "The nice thing about being this age is that it's not a question of how to get the money, it's how we'll divide it up," Mack said. Financing the $4,000 for their six-track demo, "Life's Design of the Mind," scheduled for release in September, wasn't necessarily a cakewalk, Layne said, quashing rumors of a roommate-turned-wealthy-benefactor. "Yeah, I'm broke," the former Guitar Center manager said, adding he paid for most of his piano gear himself. The Wishlist recorded their demo with Bowling for Soup producer Casey Diiorio. When the money ran out for Layne, he had to get creative. One day, Di'Orio's refrigerator broke. So Layne offered to trade him his old Kenmore for half a day of studio time. "That was probably like, two vocal lines or something," Hastings said, laughing. Though the band itself is still young, they say there's a sense of urgency in making it successful. "Once you get over 30, you're too old to rock 'n' roll," Mack, 26, said. Williams asserts their age is an asset in experience and maturity. "Jon and I are super-committed to trying to look cool, which is hard when you're this old," he laughed, a silver wedding band gleaming on his finger. "I'll buy something dorky and not realize it until the light's turned on." Ambition sets The Wishlist apart, he added. "When Kevin has an idea for how wants something to sound, he doesn't just a get a new patch for a keyboard like other guys would do, he gets a piano." Williams said. "We started dreaming big right away." - Iris Kuo, UTDMercury.com, August 22, 2005 Check out the artist's website: http://wishlistrecords.com Track List: 1. Perfect Portrait 2. Reflections Of Me 3. Nova 4. Life's Design Of Mind 5. This Is Love Other Genres:
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