Music for the happy, hyper and local

Matthew West

Happy

Happy, whether good or bad, is an eclectic mix of songs from

Matthew West. The album shines on some parts and fades in others.

Many of the songs show an initial promise with their introduction

and even through the first verse, as in the first two tracks:

“More” and “Happy.” But the tracks fade in their creativity for the

chorus. It seems the eclecticism of Happy ends up being its

Achilles heel because it becomes inconsistent. West’s voice seems

to be what is on parade throughout the album, and his voice alone.

The music seems fresh out of the can at times, but keep in mind

that this is not the Matthew West Band album. Matthew wrote and

recorded each song with different artists. The low-points of Happy,

for me, are the pseudo rap speak of the title track along with the

Backstreet Boys-esque chorus of “The Turnaround.” A lack of

inspiration and creativity in the first three songs brings the

album down. However, Happy begins to shine toward the end. The

choruses become less pre-packaged and the verses become more

identifiable. The stand-out on the record is “Every Second.” The

acoustic guitar and electric teetering between clean channel and

distortion along with the drawn out flow of the chorus melody in

contrast to the short poppy lines in the verse show a lot of

promise. I would like to hear more in the vein of the acoustic

outro, also. I would prefer to hear a record that speaks more

singularly about Matthew West.

The Letter Kills

The Bridge

Is Letter Kills a good band? Yes. Do they bring emotion and

intensity? Yes. Are there a dozen other bands with the same sound?

Yes. I wouldn’t buy The Bridge, but I would download it. That’s the

harsh standard of the mp3 culture we live in. The Bridge CD is

definitely downloadable. It is well-produced, with solid drum fills

and guitar riffs. The singer unleashes a couple of screams through

the course of the album that might get some hair rising on the back

of a few necks. The Bridge is very good at the high energy and

brings a high recording quality with a meticulous ear for guitar.

The riffs are metal in a lot of ways, but also pull into punk

effectively. The drummer stands somewhere between the two. The

vocals and background vocals are all punk. The Bridge is a

powerful, catchy rock album, but it’s a bit lacking in an

identifiable sound. There is hope for future releases once they get

the confidence of a solid debut. I would go out of my way to see

The Letter Kills live, anyone should.

South Pond

Demo

This demo CD from local band South Pond is the perfect contrast to

the over-produced songs of most of the Matthew West album. South

Pond has a very “unclassifiable” sound. The band has a clean,

bluesy sound and effectively makes use of every instrument.

Lyrically, the band rings in a bit less mature than what the music

would let on. That is not to say that the vocals are ineffective,

it is to say that is where the sound of the band, as a whole, lags.

The vocalist, stylistically, comes from the school of singing

brought to many by Bradley Nowell. I am interested to see the

audience at a South Pond show, because the group is hard to

pinpoint as for a sound and a genre. South Pond is an original band

in its early stages with high potential. They have been together

for six months and their next gig is at JD and Friends on Sept. 20.

To contact them call 395-1034.

Joe Franklin
Culture Writer

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