Breaching Vista ‎– Breaking The View MCD

Imagine, if you will, that a saucerful of alien explorers landed on Earth as part of a peaceful mission to understand human culture. If the aliens wanted to learn about, say, ballet, we could show them a video of Baryshnikov. If they asked about golf, some footage of Tiger Woods would certainly explain a lot. And if the little green men wanted to grasp the concept of radio-friendly alternative rock (it could happen!), it would make sense to play them this CD by Breaching Vista. It's not that this Canadian band is the best alt-rock group out there, nor the most successful, but their four-song debut EP, Breaking the View, is a veritable primer on crafting catchy, hook-laden tunes that showcase all the best elements of the genre (and, thankfully, none of the worst). With four songs clocking in at 15 minutes, the mcd is a concise how-to of the genre, like a 'Dummies Notes' for any young hipsters hoping to get airplay and chicks. All the crucial ingredients are there: the not-too-complicated guitar riffing, the angst-ridden lyrics about lost loves and other grief (our fave line: "Oh, this room is a hostel of pain"), the slick multi-layered production and the stuck-in-your-head-for-days anthemic choruses. Though this type of music has been done before (think Jimmy Eat World, Gin Blossoms, Tugboat Annie, Fightstar) it is not often done this well. Lead vocalist John Maksym has a gutsy, self-assured voice that lends a sense of urgency and honesty to the lyrics. The guitar sound is tweaked to perfection, giving the big riffs some in-your-face power whilst the more intricate parts add texture to the background. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more effective pop-punk song than 'Tap Tap' and in a space of less than four minutes the song evolves with several distinct gear changes and a chorus that just begs to be sung along with. If our hypothetical alien visitors wished to understand the concepts of "originality" or "avant-garde," we would surely have to steer them away from Breaching Vista. But when it comes to this particular brand of aggressive-yet-accessible radio-rock, Breaching Vista are exemplary representatives of their ilk.