By Ezra Lloyd
Take a moment and think back to your adolescence. What does your youth sound like? No doubt if you are reading the album reviews in the publication, you can probably remember at least a handful of bands comprised of your high school classmates.
Do you remember what they sounded like? Most likely, one of the main qualities of this music (regardless of genera or time period) is the innocence that was captured. Kids approaching instruments untarnished and unburdened by a boat load of other players and musicians who have come before them. Sure the themes and music itself could at times be a bit simple minded and not current high school standards But the premise of approaching an instrument, or a song, or an album with a blank slate remains. Enter The Sogs.
THE GOOD
Their newest album has a bold innocence to it. In the face of everyone telling everyone else surefire ways to become popular and get big, they seem to buck convention and say “screw it” to making music in any other way than they see fit. Diverse in dynamics and sonic quality, this album has a wide range of flavors and influences spanning from pop-punk to ska to old world folk songs (a mandolin even makes an appearance). Far from just jumping back into the old tropes of before, they seem to be approaching writing and creating with that wholly blank slate approach that even though it tinges on the very familiar, still sounds entirely new.
THE BAD
It seems at times that this level of innocence can be disadvantageous, not that it directly compromises the musical integrity per se. In 2019 it is also mighty hard to say that there is a right way to approach an album. Are wild stylistic fluctuations part of the new normal? Or is it an issue worth bringing up to help Spotify’s supercomputers better categorize what the humans are getting up to these days?
THE VERDICT
It seems that The Sogs have a keen sense of style building, one that has an approach to music that is innocent and new in all of the old familiar ways. Varied stylistically, and accessible for a wide audience, it seems that The Sogs having come far but have more left to do. Ideally, they don’t lose the youthful charm that gives their music a feeling that one often doesn’t hear anymore.
