Fronted by graduate student Eric DiMarzio, student band Eric and the DiMarzios has played a handful of gigs around campus — including opening for The Love Language and The New Pornographers at this year’s homecoming show. Now, the band has its first real release: a six song self-titled EP. On its debut, Eric and the DiMarzios delivers earnest tracks that, though obviously heartfelt and seemingly sincere, fail to leave a significant impression.
DiMarzio spends most of the record wondering why he can’t find a special someone. On “The Long Walk to Hinton James,” he asks, “Carolina, can you help your son?” apparently looking to the university to help him get a girl. The song at its core is something that a lot of us can sympathize with — it’s easy to get frustrated when you can’t find a good partner on a campus of nearly 30,000 people. However, the song ends up sounding cheesy and desperate.
Upbeat and catchy, “Lucy” is the EP’s strongest song. However, the rest of the EP feels as though it’s all been done before. “Catching Up” is standard “just wait for me, I promise I’ll be worth your time” fare, while “If it Burns” covers the ground of “I got rejected and am going to write a song about how sad I feel.”
Simply put, Eric and the DiMarzios cover no new ground lyrically, musically or even emotionally. Though the tunes may be different, its songs have been sung a million times by a million others.
All of the songs are simple, which both helps and hinders DiMarzio’s efforts. Though easily accessible and relatable, it’s also immature and overly ambitious.
The band could perhaps carve a spot for itself among other Triangle folk figures, but it fails to accomplish anything with this EP.
With practice, Eric and the DiMarzios can fix itself, sharpening its songwriting and sound to match its eagerness.
