SHREDnews

By: Jess Grenier

The Sophomore Beat, now a five-piece band from Maine, have finally released their freshmen album. Released at the beggining of this month, the band is hoping to finally set things off with debut Hi, Technology. After releasing their EP For The Time Being in 2007 the band has progressed by forming and mastering their signature sound. After my first listenen to the album all I have to say is that I’m proud of them for completing such a great debut!

The album starts off with the track “Chronically Wrong” which is a window to the rest of the album. I love how everything mixes in this song; the guitars, bass, synth and vocals make it quite a lovely song to listen to. Your head will be nodding a long the whole three minutes. The next track “Her Everyday Life” flows nicely into “And She Hates Me” -  positively one of my favorite songs off the record. It’s incredibly catchy, especially how vocalist Dan sings the words ‘two’ and ‘rules,’ for some reason his pronounciation gets it caught in your head! The lyrics are also pretty clever too.

Track number four “Next Time In September” is a pretty adorable song. The melody and lyrics fit perfectly. It’s the perfect song to include in just about any type of mix tape for a significant other. Now, every album needs an acoustic slow song and track number seven “I’d Say You’re Poised,” is just that. It’s a nice break from the rest of their up-beat, dance worthy songs. I’d say this song is made for a slow dance. Either way with this album, your feet won’t stop moving. The following song “Hey Baby, I Went To College” is another one of my personal highlights. The song goes along with how they chose the name of the band. It talks about going to school for a year and when Dan headed to college for a year, so he had a total of enough credits to make him a sophomore.

Track ten “Three Squares” was also previously featured on their EP.  This song will be a favourite with long-time fans since it’s one of their older songs. The final song on Hi, Technology is “Make You.” I feel like the band made a good choice in making this the last song on the album. It’s a great sort of mellow song compared to their other tracks. It also leaves an impact with how well the lyrics are written and it makes you want to replay it and really pay attention to them. Over all it’s an amazing track, but really I feel like every single one on this album was.

The band really put their hearts into making this album and it shows. It’s a great piece to show how they’re gradually growing as a band. I feel like this album is just the beginning form The Sophomore Beat and when the time comes to write another album, it’ll be even better. This band has so much potential and I can’t wait to see their future work.

Favourite Track: And She Hates Me, Next Time It Snows In September, Hey Baby, I went To College, I’ll Blame You For The Rest Of My Life, Three Squares

Overall Rating: 9/10

For Fans of: All Time Low, Sparks The Rescue, Boys Will Be Boys