The Tender Box is a four-piece rock band from a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood called “South Gate” in Los Angeles. I got wind of The Tender Box from none other than Tender Box fan Perez Hilton. He said this on his site about The Tender Box: “Every once in a while we discover a singer or band that makes us flip our shit”. I wanted my shit flipped too, so I got a hold of their music.
Their current release is a self titled, five song EP. It may be a quick listen, but it is certainly worth listening to for indie/pop fans. The Tender Box front man, Joey Medina, has a very powerful but smooth, soulful voice that makes The Tender Box really stand out. Fans of bands like The Killers, The Fray or even Carolina Liar would dig The Tender box. Understand that I am not making a direct comparison to any of those bands, but The Tender Box belongs in the same genre and conversation.
“Incomplete Design” is my favorite track on the EP. After hearing the melodic guitar intro, you will be immediately drawn in. One of my biggest peeves with indie rock is intros that take forever. That’s not the case here. “Incomplete Design” is lyrically brilliant. It is a love song in which the crooning Medina sings to his love, pleading them to stay in his life and complete his life. He does so with such genuine emotion and passion that one can’t help but root for the guy.
“Gravity” is another good love song on The Tender Box EP where Medina’s voice is sure to win you over. A very mellow track, “Gravity” is quite the mood setter. It should be theme song for being in a relationship. “Beautiful Sin” and “Another Lover” are the more upbeat tracks. You can dance to the synthesized electro beat of “Beautiful Sin”, which reminds of a song The Killers would write. “Too Hard Too Cold” is a run of the mill indie rock song, but certainly not difficult to listen to. It’s just forgettable back ground music really. With that being said, I look forward to a full length from The Tender Box in the near future and even an Austin appearance.
The short EP was produced by Warren Huart and Jay Rustin, who between them have worked with The Fray and The Donnas. Hopefully they will work with The Tender box more for a full length album. I look forward to an Austin appearance form The Tender Box in the near future.