Here we are with The Sounds, a band that has released two albums now, and are a great poppy band to listen to. Their newest album, was great with many many great songs, that just are catchy as hell with great hooks and synths that make this pop band stand out among others, but does their debut album match the goodness of "Dying to Say This to You?"
Maja Ivarsson - vocals
Felix Rodriquez - guitar
Johan Bengtsson - bass
Jesper Anderberg - synthesizer
Fredrik Nilsson- drums
If you don't know anything about the sounds, what makes them stand out a bit more than other bands other than they are extremely poppy is that the synths are very catchy with a good, female vocalist singing over them. A good thing about this album that people might like more than their current release, Living in America is a bit more raw and not the best produced thing you will ever hear. With that it still manages to be a great album.
The songs off the album are all great, very dancy and ridiculously catchy. After you get the groove of each song, and get the lyrics down you will be singing along and having a good time. Even when you are tired of the album and just want to break it, if you were to hear a song from the album you would still be singing along just because the song put you into a weird trance to where you want to sing along with it.
Out of the two Sounds albums, I would have to say this is my favorite one. The reasons for this, is because Living in America is more synth driven and the lyrics in this album are more fun and fun to sing along to. I also think there are just a lot more songs I would rather listen to, than on "Dying to Say this to you"
Anyway in closing for this review part, this is a great album. If you want a more raw styled pop album with a female singer with a good voice, then this should be an album for you. It's well worth the money, and the CD has a few nice extras where you can a few music video's if you play it in your computer.
Track by Track Review-
Seven Days a Week- This is a great catchy song to start the album. Sadly though, I disliked this song a lot when I first heard it. It starts out with a nice drum beat into the actual song. The guitars are nothing interesting and nothing really stands out. The Sounds are good for that, the instruments are really bland, but the rhythms they achieve just make your head bounce to the beat.
Dance with Me- I love this song, it's a song that sounds like it was played in schools for dances in the 80's or something. This is a song that just is good all around and really bouncy. The singers voice is just really calm and compliments the keyboards/guitars very well. This song wasn't a single, but it would have made a great one because you get "The Sounds" style of music through-out the entire song.
Living in America- Here is the big hit of the album, the song that got me into the band. The keyboards and guitar lead the way through the intro as the drums are in the background. The lyrics are great in this song nothing special at all but are cleverly written. You WILL be singing along to this song whenever you hear it. Hell halfway through he song you will be repeating the chorus. My favorite part of the song is probably when she transforms her voice as a odd robot were to be singing. I love that and it sounds great, makes the song very memorable.
Hit Me!- Another one of my favorite songs on the album, opening up with drums and a horn of some sort. If you can listen and not get into the random ridiculous drum beat and the catchy chorus then you fail at being into a nice pop groove. This song, unlike the others don't feature the synths much, but a good song none the less.
Mine for Life- Not really a standout song on the album, but Maja's vocals soar to a nice extent the entire song. The highlights of this song are the vocals/chorus and ending. What makes the ending dancy and catchy are the keyboards/synths follow the songs rhythm for about 30 seconds and it's pretty much the synths and drum sound and nothing else, a gold ending to a good song.
Rock'N Roll- Whenever I think of this song, I think of my friends and just loving it, he even used it in a video that he made. The song for me has a lot of memories tied to it. It's not paced as quick as the other songs, it's a bit slower, but not ballad like. Yet another standout track from the Sounds. We're 6 songs in and there hasn't been one bad song or any repetitive songs or fillers yet.
Like a Lady- This song isn't my favorite or really interesting, but the chorus fits the formula of overly damn catchy. Not much really to say about this song.
Reggi- I CANNOT STAND the opening to this song. Her voice just sounds horrible to me as she sings a bit with not instruments behind her to back her up. After the bad opening, the songs reaches a good chorus but nothing to draw you in like most of the other songs. Another song that really doesn't stand head and shoulders above the rest, it does feature a nice guitar solo in the middle though which is a change compared to most of their songs.
Fire- It seems like we are getting into the lower part of the album, but even if I am saying these songs aren't to great. They aren't bad at all, there is just nothing that would bring you to want to listen after a few times that you have. Luckily the next song is another one of my favorites
Hope you're happy now- I love this song, it's is my favorite track of the album. Opening up with strong lyrics and nice catchy keyboards. The entire song is catchy and not just the chorus. Another song that you will be singing along to the entire way through. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend you might get some frustrations out with problems you might have with this song.
Riot-Eh, I don't really want to explain why I don't like this song to much, same reasons as why I didn't some of the other songs above.
S.O.U.N.D.S- The final song on the album- A great song, I don't remember if it's hidden or not, but it has a VERY raw guitar opening and vocals seem bit on the rough side, but when it reaches the chorus and spacey styled keyboards you will love it. It's a song about the band, and it's very fun.
That is all for the track listing reviews. Don't take my "I don't like this track" as a bad song though. There is just nothing really to write about it, because nothing appeals to me out from the others. It's a great album and if you like pop/rock BUY THIS, you most likely won't regret it.
