Portland, Oregon is the new home to the boys in rm 101. Originally from Madison, WI, this 5 piece jazzed-up rock band moved to Portland in 2000 to "participate in the scene and work restaurant jobs". And the scene can use the fresh, soulful sounds of rm 101. Dreamy guitar leads into polished melodies, and instantly from the opening track "Straight Line", the listener is held captive in rm 101. This is a clean CD, rm 101 seems to know where they are going, and how they want to get there. Trumpets! What a very nice touch, not something you hear every day. Every track on Half of What You Wanted has something unique to offer listeners. The title track sounds much like wandering in on a professional jam session, while "Call it a Hunch" is dreamy, dramatic and soulful, giving full display to the power of Joshua Vasby's vocals. Listening to rm 101 reminds me that it's high time to hit the indie rock clubs again and check out the new boys in town. Looks like I'll have plenty of opportunity, rm 101 has a full live schedule lined up at such Portland hot spots as Ash St, Berbat's, the Blackbird, Satyricon, Tonic Lounge... well, you get the idea. Restaurant jobs or not, these boys do seem to play around! Check your club listings and get out there and join rm 101 and "participate in the scene". Judging from Half of What You Wanted, you won't be disappointed.
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Rm. 101 has declared the Northwest music scene as their territory, since relocating from Madison WI several years ago. Their latest release ‘Half of What you Wanted’ is a seven track CD full of poignant vocals enclosed around supple melodies and bold rhythmic sounds, which weave the listener through a roller coaster of emotions.

The band shows off their musical maturity in the song ‘Straight Line’. The track starts off by musically spinning the listener with an arousing melody, and then leisurely climaxes into a swift tempo, with edgy guitars and harmonic distortion. Lead singer Joshua Vasby's vocals are highlighted in a low-key arrangement giving him a restrained distant sound.

Reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate and Built to Spill’s unsettled guitar rhythms, ‘The Hoax’ is a track that bleeds with sensation. Vasby's vocals will strike a chord with Radiohead fans as his vocal influence becomes apparent in the track. The song holds the listener’s attention by way of multi-layered tracks and a tranquil piano arrangement. 

‘Half of What you Wanted’ offers the listener a quality produced recording that has an abundance of layers, and a variety of tempos and melodies creating an intricate sound. Rm. 101 gives us hope for the creation of brilliant music in a commercialy fixated culture.
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Granted, Rm. 101 was highlighted last month in 20-2, but the quality of the band's performance and recording ability made ignoring the submission of Half of What You Wanted simply impossible. Besides, they've just released a live album available online and at their upcoming shows.
If you've been at all disappointed in the last 3 Radiohead albums, then this band is what you've been looking for. Rm. 101 has picked up where the cheeky Brits left off. With only 7 tracks, it still stretches 49+ minutes long, and it's packed with surprising chord arrangements and instrumentation. Seriously though, the guy couldn’t sound more like Thom Yorke if he tried. If that bothers you, stay away. But if The Bends was one of your favorite albums ever, you can find this rocking cd online, at shows, and probably in some local record stores. -DA
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this cd is great. the songs flow together nicely and i think of it as a record you need to listen to through one sitting (although each individual song is beautiful by itself as well). these guys are from my hometown of cambridge (about 1000 people) and i think it's great that they have gotten this far. my favorite thing about this record is the transitions in the songs--it will start out with just guitar or bass and then the drums will come in, then you'll hear the keyboard and 2nd guitar, until finally you are attacked by wicked trumpets. just the whole way they do the layering of instruments is nice.  i got the chance to see these guys live when they came back to madison and they were even better in concert. so check it out.
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