REVIEWS:
"Eleven Minutes Away waste no time in showing the listener that they are a band in the vein of fellow Canadians Alexisonfire. Fans of Jimmy Eat World would adore the power pop of I'm a Doctor, Not a Doorstop with its tight melody. The highlight has to be the full-out rocker Enjoy The Disaster that is well-executed thanks to guitarists Veska and Chris Reilly. A close second, however is Alias: Grace, which mixes the softer side with the harder, edgier rock portion. The finale Drilling Holes In His Head Is Not The Answer focuses on this component with great results. Arson Followed Me Home is an album with good songs." - All Music
"Eleven Minutes Away have rock-star talent. Wisely, the band doesn't venture too far into hardcore-lite territory and largely stick to solid indie rock. Eleven Minutes Away could be on the path to Canadian radio stardom and American indie adoration." - Skratch
"Hailing from the same Southern Ontario petri dish that spawned post-hardcore heroes Jersey and Grade, Deep Elm signees Eleven Minutes Away aim to follow their homeboys' lead and take suburban bedrooms and skateparks by storm. At times Arson Followed Me Home is tuneful and melodic (like the winsomely Shall I Happily), but for the most part it's loud, raucous no-frills emocore; a densely-packed nailbomb of regret, busted romances and white-hot cathartic release that's mercifully light on the moping and crying." - Chart
"At Eleven Minutes Away's best on tracks like I'm A Doctor, Not A Doorstep and Purpose Is Distraction, the band presents an tendency to be simultaneously great and derivative. Thankfully, Arson Followed Me Home includes more of the former, with the use of interesting percussive elements and, on tracks like the stand-out I Am Tragedy, a genuine ability to play outside of conventional genre lines and experiment with structural and sonic elements. Arson Followed Me Home is given its moments to shine; and when it does, it's pretty damn bright." - Exclaim
"Arson Followed Me Home from Eleven Minutes Away is awesome, going straight to the top of my favorite Deep Elm releases. Opener Atrophy Acetylene thunders and rips its way onto the stereo. While it takes a moment to lull, the pounding drums and melodic singing build it back up with the inevitable monstrous screams to match. I'm A Doctor, Not A Doorstep follows in a similar vein and allows little time for rest and reflection. I can't get enough of the hard hitting style and catchy vocals. For me the key to this record is the pace and intensity which is never ending. Arson Followed Me Home is an awesome record that hits home on almost every track." - Mammoth Press
"Arson Followed Me Home is an incendiary, high-octane metallic assault, bobbing and weaving between wailing guitars and howling vocals with breakneck speed. Peppered with atmospherics and Chris Veska's heartfelt lyrics, songs like Enjoy The Disaster, I Am Tragedy and the lead-off single and video for PS I Hate You have Eleven Minutes Away poised to represent the emo and punk kids that helped them get this far." - View
"Eleven Minutes Away has managed to breathe new life into punk/hardcore. The thing that differentiates the band from the rest is their carefully crafted, well written, explosive yet emotional music. Arson Followed Me Home explodes out of the gates with attention getter Atrophy Acetylene. The mix of gruesome screaming and vocal melodies is amazing, especially when its backdrop is crushing guitars and an explosive rhythm section. Shall I Happily rips right through your body like a chainsaw with fast paced screams then slowing down to grind you to pieces. The album ends with the amazing Drilling Holes In His Head Is Not The Answer, which makes you feel the pain and anger in the vocals...and might even drill a hole in your head. Words cannot describe Arson Followed Me Home. I recommend that you just go out and pick it up to really appreciate it." - Music Appraisal
"Eleven Minutes Away show a chaotically controlled ambition on their debut, Arson Followed Me Home. Rock riffs and blasting sequences share space with sedated interludes, constantly vacillating between pensive and perilous. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Veska, in turn, offers intelligible, surprisingly soulful singing that's countered by the bloodcurdling screams of guitarist Chris Reilly and bassist Rob Nagy. It translates into painterly works: the menacing but sing-songy Enjoy The Disaster, the high-powered and slithering seesaw of I'm A Doctor, Not A Doorstep and the molten coda to Drilling Holes In His Head Is Not the Answer. The short interlude that is I Am Home is a great summation of Eleven Minutes Away's first record; it's a crushing number that achieves an astonishing level of beauty. Better yet, it denotes a young band loaded with aspiration and ambition beyond many of popular music's confines." - Journal Review
"Deep Elm finds talent; if you didn't already know that, you will after listening to the opening track of Eleven Minutes Away's debut, Arson Followed Me Home. It's a cut that mixes the spastic cacophony of metal with an even-keeled mellow. Yeah, this band is pretty f_ing cool. Chris Veska's vocal gymnastics do much for EMA. Take Shall I Happily, a track that starts off in the style of one of Brandtson's nostalgic masterpieces and explodes into a frantic, shape-shifting juggernaut. To throw out another comparison, imagine a more intelligent version of Boys Night Out." - Upbeet Music
"Eleven Minutes Away are an intriguing prospect in their own right. This is art-driven rock, without being pompous and maintaining a thoroughly poppy level of catchiness. Arson Followed Me Home is well worth investigating." - New Noise
"Brand new hardcore from Canada, Arson Followed Me Home is tight, consistent and it just rocks. I hope that Eleven Minutes Away gets the recognition they deserve because the record's a hit with me." - Amp
"Thrusting the gear shift into overdrive, Arson Followed Me Home is a battleground of imaginative post-hardcore, post-emo indie rock that paves the way for others to follow in Eleven Minutes Away's massive footsteps. Blending melodic singing with screams that could drive any pit nuts, one could cast this aside as another entry into the screamo genre, but that would be a big mistake as you'd miss out on one of the best bands that hardcore has seen in quite a long time." - Smother
"With twelve electrifying, earth-shaking songs, Eleven Minutes Away provide the listener with an energetic ride of dynamic rock, easily viable in such tracks as Atrophy Acetylene, I'm A Doctor, Not A Doorstep, and the dangerously unrelenting P.S. I Hate You. Showing little signs of slowing down, the onslaught of melody breaks out as Danger Inc. adds incentive, bringing on atmospheric undertones. The energetic side of Eleven Minutes Away is once again brought forth as Enjoy The Disaster makes it way through your ear drums, blurring the line with an introspective, kinetic energy. With the creative songwriting skills that Eleven Minutes Away display, songs like I Am Tragedy - filled with a wealth of graceful energy - have no trouble flowing into tracks like Alias: Grace. The record ends with Drilling Holes In His Head Is Not The Answer and makes for welcoming departure from such a commanding and fortifying debut. Deep Elm has really picked up on something here with Eleven Minutes Away." - Adapt
"Wow, this is an atypical release for Deep Elm! Instead of indie rock, Eleven Minutes Away bring some definite hardcore influences to the table, and on Arson Followed Me Home, these guys sure as hell are worth being heard! There's a lot of Mock Orange meets The Beautiful Mistake in the band's sound, with additional punch, screams and crazy rhythm changes. Eleven Minutes Away avoids the pitfalls of most bands in the genre and keep sounding fresh throughout the thirty-nine minutes of the album." - Punk Rock Theory
"Deftly mixing melody and discord, Eleven Minutes Away crafts some really sharp sounding songs on Arson Followed Me Home. I'm impressed." - Aiding & Abetting
"Who would have thought Canada could bring the rock this hard? Arson Followed Me Home is one of the heaviest discs in the Deep Elm line-up and Eleven Minutes Away tore our faces off from first play. These guys are tight...really tight. Fast hardcore tempo shifts melted with cathartic vocals and singable backing vocal choruses. EMA could easily pass their sound off as a six piece with three guitars in the band, as truly epic songs are rendered here. It's not all assault however: the breakdowns are just as powerful and teeth clenching. The range of the songs are very refreshing: the 90's rock influenced Alias: Grace or the jazzier I Am Tragedy. This band reminds of us another Canadian cornerstone favorite, Grade, but they add their own flavor to the mix. Fans of fast, melodic punk without the usual cliches should definitely check out Eleven Minutes Away." - Crooked Camera
"Eleven Minutes Away's opening to Arson Followed Me Home is interesting, as it uses tried and true metal riffs to create a compelling post-hardcore track that is fueled most by its vocals. Throughout the song on the record, an energy flitters through that makes for a feeling that one cannot shake. Deep Elm has progressed in the style of music that they have put out in the last decade, and Eleven Minutes Away is the vanguard of the new-emo style. This shows that Eleven Minutes Away is impressive enough in playing a style that is overrun by rich kids with expensive equipment that an indie like Deep Elm could find them. Eleven Minutes Away is just that...eleven minutes away from hitting it big, and their work on Arson Followed Me Home indicates that there is a mature and impressive band making emo into a musician's genre, instead of a hairstylist's." - Neufutur
"Eleven Minutes Away play emotional rock songs, combined with hard screaming, bright guitars and solid drum work. Arson Followed Me Home is better than most bands from the screamo genre and Eleven Minutes Away catches my attention. Somehow they remind me of BARS from Equal Vision. Both bands have the same concept: good melodies, sometimes even fast skatepunk melodies, combined with screaming." - Punk76
"Hearing Arson Followed Me Home from Eleven Minutes Away gives me a nostalgic feeling. Their music takes me back to the records of bands like Grade, As Friends Rust and Underoath. I have always liked the combination of full-throttle scorchers with clear, spirited singing and dynamic, catchy riffs: a dialogue between the story-teller and the listener who's eager to have his say. Again, I can't help thinking of early Grade, a band who took hardcore to another level with its sound. Now Eleven Minutes Away is walking in their footsteps, creating their own electrifying, heart-shaking songs." - Semtex
"A mix of punk, hardcore and metal, Eleven Minutes Away are all about tight rhythms and anthems on Arson Followed Me Home. Sing-along choruses are pulled together with snarls and screams. Guitars churn out tight, heavy rhythm while occasional metal flourishes lace the lead. All this joins together to make what is an energetic and enjoyable sound." - Tasty
"With their well-played indie guitar riffs and much appreciated hardcore indulgences, just a few songs from Eleven Minutes Away are enough to know that I like this band. On songs like P.S. I Hate You, muted guitar riffs and throaty, spoken lyrics break into a barrage of screams worthy of an Alexisonfire comparison. And like their fellow Canadian brethren, Eleven Minutes Away walks a thin line between pop and post-hardcore and the previously mentioned song is an excellent example of a band successfully pulling off such a tricky balancing act. Eleven Minutes Away keeps to the pop / post-hardcore dichotomy without feeling redundant." - Aural Minority
"Eleven Minutes Away can rock the heavy stuff just as easily as they pull off whispery pauses, with neither feeling out of place or stretched. On Arson Followed Me Home, the band seems to have a lot of early Mock Orange in them, with all sorts of crazy rhythms being painted against a backdrop of three different vocalists, with harmonies shooting off like fireworks. The third track, P.S. I Hate You, is definitely a lesson in juxtaposition, as it begins with razor-sharp metallic riffing, and then folds into a melodic sing-along that's fit for jumping up and down in place. As sunny harmonies fall into place over belligerent drumming and often-chugging guitars, there's an aura to this release that's far from being draped in melancholy constraints. In typical Deep Elm fashion, the artwork is simple, but clean and very professional, adding extra depth to a release that knows a thing or two about texture. Good stuff." - Pastepunk
"From the Great White North, Eleven Minutes Away has been perfecting their craft and are now ready to unleash it with Arson Followed Me Home. It's catchy and it's good. Their single, P.S. I Hate You, reminds me a lot of Grade, which of course is a plus. They took extra care and time and it paid off. I'm very pleased with Arson Followed Me Home." - Rise And Revolt
LYRICS:
Atrophy Acetylene
decorum to my crippling agents. prepackaged prayers and arrangements. your parting bids me a sweet sorrow. that perfect timing for tomorrow. i walk a minefield every time. impatience sings a crater mine. to whom it may concern. were sorry for your loss. i would advise you to be patient. portage across my broken landscape. extinguish evil with emotion. prescribed therapeutic potion. accelerometer is broken. so smile and wave on the destruction. your loss
I'm A Doctor, Not A Doorstop
so twist and flail with all your might and fall despite me. i am the only friend you have so don't ignore me. let's say your right. step through the glass. you tried always changing things so now it's worse. somehow you'll redeem yourself and we will move on. how'd we end up here i'll never know. moving too slow. decisions come too fast i can't keep track. you can't take it back. please say you'll try. but know we are the same
P.S. I Hate You
construct me to your fate. but i'd agree anyway. guide this spear through my spine. and punch these holes in my heart. those photos i can't bare to see. touch the radio and i'll leave you here. make sure to print your name. just a remembrance to the pain. there's nothing in between. just a silhouette of me. wilted as you say. another memory to keep. all these folded lines i've seen (there's nothing in between). scissors cut from seam to seam (another memory to keep). all these photographs that show (there's nothing in between). tear me from heart to soul. show me the faces to outline. it's hard to see from time to time. find a cure for an old embrace. i turned to leave as you walked away. frowned upon my bloody hands. my regrets will wash away. scattered lines and deadly words. as i fall asleep again. there's nothing in between. just a silhouette of me. wilted as you say. another memory to keep. all these folded lines i've seen. scissors cut from seam to seam (as i poke out your eyes. told you my kind of goodbye). all these photographs that show. tear me from heart to soul (as i poke out your eyes. told you my kind of goodbye). frowned upon my bloody hands. as i walk i poke out your eyes. tear me out. fades away. tear me out. these scissors cut you from me. there's nothing in between (tear me out). just a silhouette of me (tear me out). wilted as you say (fades away). another memory to keep (fades away). can you please call this time. admit we're right and leave behind. suit's and angles coloured wrong. tear this gift down from the wall. of withered faith and rotten smiles. i'll break the glass you start the fire. i'll fall into your hidden blade. a simple way to feel again. there's nothing in between. just a silhouette of me. wilted as you say. another memory to keep
Danger Inc.
your faults are hard to bare it shows. there's no support for you let go. let us take it for what it's worth. third time's a charm so let's break it. i give my regards to all those who remain. i'll waste our time once again. i know a way that you don't know. all the hard times you thought you knew. superficial knife wounds will not impair you. it's funny how we live to self destruction. let's leave and burn those bridges and children. i can help you through this it's the same way i will go
Purpose Is Distraction
another one had the time to find these own escape. there is something that restrains my progression so gradually. and never start a sentence with there is because. you don't want to look foolish as many phrases as many ways. what you gunning for. it's another chance to leave. leave self-perfection. i don't want to fail once more. no matter what you think or what you say hey it's a loss. my faith and momentum will strive to go on and on. aren't you going to stop to look
Shall I Happily
be careful of her lies. they try to flourish when desire and love. as to a slate of red flaking paint. that rises up like fire. a postcard remains. surrounds her blissful mask. are those pillars of stone. remnants of those picturesque romantics she will slay. no comfort in looking back. my final resting place. i fear i have already committed. my strength for a search. through all the wreckage. maybe she had lied to me. because the pieces are all missing. life wrecks go unknown. i know that you had room for two. yet i am shackled to this anchor. this sure is some goodbye. and so she fears no one. too bold to feel sorrow. i am forced to sort my scattered thoughts alone. and left to view the world. through bloodshot eyes. be careful of her lies. they try to flourish when desire and love. as to a slate of red flaking paint. that rises up like fire. a postcard remains. she fears no one
I Am Home
burn it down. this cursive pattern is a minefield. misguided wreck. dredged from the bottom. and i will be your end. i'm home
Enjoy The Disaster
open your eyes. you have to see this. i'll take the wheel and we will go. this painful ride. and bare the failure on my own. don't break my fall. i'm disappointing. i'll hide forever. no more gestures. please don't find me. you could grow wings and whisper your goodbye. i'll take the wheel just tell me where to go
This Is Only An Emergency
change of plans now. this was unexpected. can't look back. ask these questions. secure my failure. you're not alone. this crash landing. is overwhelming. we're going down. i confess to you. too late i know. before we die. i wish you knew. we'll fall into the unknown doom together. and everything will be okay i promise. i'll hold your hand and keep you safe forever. it's so bright i can't look back. it's so bright. i know your scared cause i am too. accept this failure it will bring you down. and please look to me for that faith that's lost. we won't make it this time so don't let go. it's a long way to fall i wish you knew. it's a long way to fall. it's just me. its been so long. and i'll miss you. i can't look back. too late i know. i wish you knew
I Am Tragedy
an end still looms defiant. and none so cold as silence
Alias: Grace
it's okay she knows the way to go. and paint the trails retire in the grey. a twisted thorn in her weeping dress i lie. hide these tears before they run. that dreary smile she left behind. i'll fall into her eyes. she said it would rain soon. the moments pass us by. everything i left of you. memories are hard to leave behind. closed your eyes and left me here to die. i loved the way you used to smile. i will not leave you
Drilling Holes In His Head Is Not The Answer
be still and sleep. so blind yourself from. misguided senses. ironic at best. it's far from over now. what's so important. composing rapture. and mannerisms. oh so charming. was dear to me. has now departed. an empty shell. sit idle and be still. be still. and sleep. sit idle and be still. condemning to enslave. and you'll repeat the past. dismantle all that's new. we've been through the worse but it's still far from over. despite what you think moments pass like decades. in danger i dissolve
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