Review Summary: "Hangin' out where I don't belong is nothing new to me."
Here's a basic concept of my daily routine. Get up. Go to School. Go Home. Do basically pointless *** for hours. Go to bed. It rarely changes, and when it does I need a lot of time to get adjusted. Luckily, I always find time to get on the internet no matter how much my daily routine changes. I usually spend a good thirty minutes tops going through my routine websites trying to find the next great thing. One of these websites is SputnikMusic. For the past four or five months I have been going on this website in search of great music. I have found some pretty amazing material thanks to a community that is so committed to scouring the internet in search of great music that it seems like they don't miss a single talented band/artist in the music industry. I was certain that I couldn’t find one great album that Sputnik hadn’t already discovered and have three plus reviews, but somehow I do believe that the community may have missed something. The band’s name is Roar and the album is I Can’t Handle Change.
Now, I Can’t Handle Change is a small album. In fact, the album is really just 15 minutes long, but what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in substance. Every song is brilliantly written to truly make every second count. It’s this design that allows the band to truly engulf the listener in raw emotion. When you hear the line “I can't help but repeat myself, ‘I know it's not your fault.’ Still lately I begin to shake for no reason at all.” It hits you like a punch in the chest. Every lyric seems to be building up to make the next lyric even more meaningful, so by the end when you hear the last line being sang over and over again, it just becomes something beautiful.
The band’s sound perfectly complements the songwriting by having deep roots to bands like The Beach Boys. Joyful instrumentation somehow fits perfectly with the sad and regretful lyrics, and the layered vocals of all the band members really drive home some of the best choruses in the album. No other musical genre could capture the songs essence like Roar does with their sound. The 60’s pop feel really has a different attitude than to what it’s trying to say which is odd, but works nonetheless.
Roar have managed to craft a short and sweet little album that will have you humming to its melancholic lyrics for a long time. It’s an absolute joy to listen to from start to finish, and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who is a fan of music.
