The Haverford College Outskirts A Thousand Days

The Haverford Outskirts are a young group. According to their website, the members originally came together in the fall of 2001, then went on hiatus, before reuniting in 2003. Despite these tumultuous beginnings, the group managed to release its first CD in May 2006, an ambitious collection of songs spanning the group’s brief history. The end result is a recording that will dazzle few, but serves as a nice milestone for a fledgling ensemble.

Listening to A Thousand Days is something like flipping through the pages of a girl’s scrapbook, representing different time periods and personal interests. We hear a pinch of parental influence in old favorite “Someobody to Love.” We get a glimpse into the girl’s childhood with “The Rainbow Connection.” We hear who the girl is now in Michelle Branch’s contemporary “Breathe.” We hear an anthem of empowerment in “Goodbye Earl,” closely followed by Switchfoot’s tender ballad, “Dare You to Move.” All of this culminates in, “Have a Little Faith in Me,” asserting that our girl has matured into a woman, ready to be a source of support for someone else.

It’s unfortunate that we hear so little of the woman, and so much of the girl in throughout this compilation. The album opens with a cover of Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life.” Soloist Kira Lom’s voice yields a stunning resemblance to that of Amy Lee, giving the listener hope for the CD. Unfortunately, the song falls flat as soon as another woman’s voice joins her, hoping to replicate Paul McCoy’s growl from the original song. Unfortunately, the Outskirts’ second soloist sounds less like an intense rocker than a 12 year old boy trying to sound like his rock idol. The track only gets worse in the declaration that “Outskirts fucking roar”—far from convincing, and unintentionally somewhat comical.

Other songs do not fail on the scale of the first track, but generally don’t grab the listener’s interest. The Outskirts have good soloists and manage some pretty harmonies, but by and large, the group’s inexperience shows in its simplistic arrangements and failure to take a lot of chances. The album’s finest moment comes in “Have a Little Faith in Me,” where the group does break the mold, making the interesting choice to vary soloists throughout the verses gives the track a personalized and sincere feeling.

I cannot, with a clear conscience, recommend that anyone purchase A Thousand Days. Nonetheless, the album serves as a good marker of where this group is coming from and how it has progressed over past few years. With time, one hopes that the girl who has splayed her scrapbook for all to see will indeed grow up and fulfill her potential.

Track list:
1. “Bring Me to Life” originally performed by Evanescence
2. “Breathe” originally performed by Michelle Branch
3. “So Far Away” originally performed by Carole King
4. “Somebody to Love” originally performed by Queen
5. “Shadow Boxer” originally performed by Fiona Apple
6. “Goodbye Earl” originally performed by The Dixies Chicks
7. “Rainbow Connection” originally performed by Kermit the Frog
8. “Galileo” originally performed by The Indigo Girls
9. “Dare You To Move” originally performed by Switchfoot
10. “Holding Out for a Hero” originally performed by Bonnie Tyler
11. “Have a Little Faith in Me” originally performed by John Hiatt

Rating: 2.5/5 stars