To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of this four-person band before listening to In the Moment, discrediting it as just another pop/rock band wildly hoping to hit the big time. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of vocals and general catchiness of the songs--I have to admit, Alamance has talent. The New Jersey band headed by lead singer Josh Sorhagen shows off a more mature and polished sound on their sophomore album, which was produced by Rob Freeman (Hit the Lights, Armor for Sleep, Cobra Starship).
In the Moment kicks off with "Tonight" to appropriately set the tone for the rest of the album. Like the rest of the songs, the vocals are the focus of this tune. With a nice foot-tapping beat and hand clap section, "Tonight" gets the energy going on an otherwise ballad-style album.
"Your Eyes, " for which an upcoming music video is promised on the band's MySpace page, comes next. Although the lyrics are pretty cliched and sometimes contradictory, I still enjoyed it. Trying to put into words the way I felt about the song, I came up with this: it's the kind of song I turn up really loud in my car and sing along to, ignoring the fact that my vocals hardly compare to Sorhagen's stellar ones.
"Right Where I Want You" is the most upbeat-sounding track in the collection and is directly followed by the edgier "Circles," which arguably has the best vocals on the album, even though screamo laces in the background.
As the band's own website indicates, Alamance is just kicking things off in their musical career; but if In the Moment is any indication of the band's future, better things are just around the corner.
3.5 out of 5 by Freelancer: Liz Blackwood