SOMA

As the world entered the new millennium, a new generation of rock artists entered the fray. Building upon, and pushing past, the Grunge and Alternative bands that had defined the decade of the ‘90s with their aggressive and anti-‘80s approach to heavy music and lyrics. As their predecessors before them, this new generation is pushing the music past what their forefathers did, reaching for new levels of emotion in their songs, experimenting with new sounds and instruments, and adding their own unique stamp on a music that is now entering its seventh decade of rocking the airwaves and clubs across the globe.

One of the newest bands on the scene, and one that is pushing rock in a new and exciting direction is the Baltimore based trio SOMA. These three talented rockers, Christian Neonakis (Vocals/Guitar/Keys) Jake Weiss (Drums/Vocals/Keys) and Andrew McCabe (Bass/Vocals), came together in January 2010 and have recently released their first self-titled EP, containing five of the band’s original tracks in a style that they can only call their own.

The EP kicks off with the hard-driving, heavily distorted “Dead,” bringing to mind Jack White’s approach to writing crunching guitar riffs and heavy beats, mixed with short, simple single-notes that help cleanse the listener’s palette between power-chord onslaughts. The song is fairly straight ahead from a harmonic standpoint, which is perfect for a heavy-rock song, but what drives the song forward is Neonakis’ guitar solo, which also reminds one of the simplistic, yet highly effective, approach of Jack White, as well as Weiss’ driving drum beat. The drums not only kick the music into high gear when needed, but the variety of rhythms helps to keep things interesting during the different sections of the song.

While the EP is full of heavy guitar, bass and drum work, one of the album’s highlights is the slower, more laid-back track “Audio Romantic.” Featuring a more complex harmonic progression than some of the heavier tracks, and more variety from the drums, added keyboards and both lead and rhythm guitar, the song is “Muse-esque” without stepping on the toes of one of the decade’s most successful bands. Fans of Muse will definitely find something to love about this song, but it won’t come across as a rip-off of the band’s sound. Instead, it is a personal statement in the style of one of SOMA’s influences, something that any great rock band has done and recorded over the years.

The short and sweet record finishes up with “Apart from Suns,” featuring some interesting vocal harmonies, groovy bass and guitar intro, and a Rage Against the Machine like verse riff that is one of the funkiest on the album, heavy enough for fans of the genre but still with more than enough groove to get one’s toes tapping and head banging. The song’s verse contains one of the more musically mature moments on the record. By choosing to not include the guitar at the beginning of the verse, bringing it in later on, the band not only showcases their arranging chops, but also builds energy by layering the instruments into the track, and not overburdening it just because they have a guitar in the band.

Overall the SOMA EP is a nice introduction to this up and coming band from Baltimore. The songs are well written, the music is heavy when needed and melodic when appropriate, providing a solid mix that will appeal to a wide audience, and the musicianship is strong throughout. With such a strong EP the audience is left wanting more, waiting for the band’s first full-length release to hit stores.

Review by Matthew Warnock
Rating: Rating 4 stars (out of 5)
- Mattew Warnock