Soma High

And last up at May’s Frequency were Southampton’s very own Somahigh, a fully fledged and fully functional foursome whose skills brought the house down in The Bridge. Their sound rests midway between dark synthy melodies and some harder rock vibes, which meant their set was often a series of leaps and bounds in various different directions, but somehow it didn’t jar. And what is great about Somahigh is their sheer brilliance on the stage – they were gracious and engaging, truly unable to believe that members of AIM and beyond were there to see the foursome, whilst the sound itself was utterly awe inspiring. It was thick and dusty in all the rights ways, sounding completely developed and common sensical in ways that both support slots didn’t manage. They truly deserve a stage and an audience at least three times the size of what they experienced at Frequency on May 9th, and keep your ears tuned, because they are likely to be big news in the not too distant future. - The Edge

If memory serves me correctly, I was pretty positive about SOMA HIGH’s debut EP (‘Lo Fat’) when asked to review it last year. Having revisited it today, I can confidently say that this follow-up three-track EP betters it by quite a distance… which all means it’s really quite shit-hot!

For a start, all three tracks have I think, more commercial potential than the (itself impressive enough) earlier release. The songs seem to have a certain fluidity to them – and greater cohesion. And though they are all vibrant and bouncy little songs, there is an underlying relaxed energy about them. What I mean is that this sounds very much like a band that has a quiet assuredness and unlike many of their peers do not seem to be forcing the issue. The vocals and playing all come across as ‘natural,’ and they are quite obviously operating well within the bounds of enjoyment.

Part of the ‘secret’ I guess, is in not ‘overstaying your welcome,’ and with the longest of the three songs just marginally scraping past the three minute mark, SOMA HIGH also seem to know when best to quit… leaving the listener pleasantly sated, but with room for an additional course!

Opening track ‘Something About You,’ has little bit of Radiohead-styled whining vocals in the verses, but this is quickly forgiven as the buzz of the guitar riff impregnates your head, before the hook-laden chorus kicks in.

‘Flashback Tuesday’ has a running guitar riff synonymous of a Marvel / DC Superhero theme tune as the bed, over which the sound of what appear to be sirens play. Again, it’s fast-paced, melodic and catchy as hell.

The riff on ‘We Don’t Want This,’ sounds familiar, I have to say (although I can’t think what it reminds me of precisely, I’m afraid) but the song adopts more of an old-school punk feel with its chanted chorus and the manner in which it descends the scales almost in a discordant manner. For me, this is the strongest of the three tracks.

SOMA HIGH seem to definitely ‘have the skills’ and there sounds like bags of potential here – especially as they have moved on in the right fashion from their debut. This EP in particular is all about melodic rock, with big sing-a-long choruses – music to jump around to. Whatever – it’s really quite adaptable!

(Released on a digital basis through The Animal Farm on 27th September 2010)

(8.5 / 10) - Loudhorizon

South Coast born SomaHigh have developed three short bursts of Brit loveliness with their sophomore record, 'Something About You'.

On this record, vocalist and song writer Sean Strugnell reflects on his thoughts, emotions and life. Supported by Ryan Smith's drumming, keys by Paul Wolf and Leon Azor's flowing bass, the songs created are incredible. Beginning with the speedy melody of the title track and its catchy little chorus and danceable beat, there is a true British approach applied to the record. This develops through the speedy 'Flashback Tuesday' and concludes with 'We Don't Want This'. Each and every track, well the three of them that are present, are feel good tunes, joyful, easy on the ears and the perfect blend of melodic poppy punk rock by SomaHigh.

When the time comes for an album of tunes to be released, here is hoping they are as enduring in memory and maybe a little more in time. - Roomthirteen

This week an interesting little band out of the UK fell into my inbox, and their music was RIGHT up my alley. I am personally a huge fan of British “garage rock” bands like Arctic Monkeys, and this band gives off that exact vibe.

Soma High says they are from the “South Coast,” and their latest EP (to be released soon) is full of energy and catchy melodies. The first track off the EP, “Flashback Tuesday,” hooked me right in with a very interesting synth effect. For about 3 seconds I thought that they lied to me about being a rock band, but sure enough distorted guitars quickly slapped me right back into reality.

The lead guitar part on the title track, “Something About You,” just SCREAMS Queens of the Stone Age, and it was no surprise to see them listed among Soma High’s influences on their MySpace page.

According to their bio, the band name was taken from Aldus Huxley’s classic sci-fi novel, “Brave New World.” I’m no sci-fi nerd, but I read that book and I must say it was excellent. Great name choice. - Tight Mix

Title track, “Lo Fat” sounds like something that could be easily used in some TV trailer incorporating a montage of explosion images and CGI wizardry from various American sci-fi series. There’s a constant pulsating electronic heartbeat which seems to breathe life to the whole track but it also underlies a very 21st Century brit-rock style, similar to Arctic Monkeys complete with punchy aggressive lyrics that still inexplicably maintain a certain panache.

“Tell You What” follows the same distinct pattern of video game-like synth sounds although there’s a very eerie motif in the chorus which will probably creep its way into your subconscious so that when you next dream of being chased by a mutant rabbit with a spider’s face THIS will be the music to accompany it as you try to escape. It’s all very unnerving but brilliantly so.

“End of the Line” is slightly different from the preceding tracks and has more of an emphasis on the melody taking prominence as opposed to the rhythmic elements and is a bit like Suede meets YourCodeNameIs:Milo. It’s hasn’t got the same sort of energy as the other tracks to inspire you to get up and dance, it’s more straightforward guitar rock but it’s in this track you realise just how talented vocalist Sean Strugnell is and how glad SomaHigh fans should be that he decided to quit his degree and pursue a career in music.

We rate this: 8 out of 10
Readers rate this: 10 out of 10

2009
- Die Shellsuit, Die

Appearances can be deceiving, take south coast band Soma High, they look like a nice respectable bunch of lads, mums and dads would quietly nod their approval if their daughters brought them home to sleepy suburbia for a spot of tea and buns……But never judge a book by its cover, Soma High’s debut EP, “Lo Fat” is a different beast altogether, and is set to explode across the pop firmament sounding like some sort of 21st century synth thrash version of the Sex Pistols. Guitars slice through electro beats and soaring vocals create a huge wall of sound, frightening in its intensity yet utterly (butterly*) compelling. Opening track “Lo-Fat” has guitarist and vocalist Sean snarling the mantra “you can’t outsmart me, you’re a moron” with the same sort of passion and rage that John Lydon used to summon up before he became the acceptable face of British butter* on TV.

Track two “Tell You What” sees the band hammering out a furious robotic post apocalyptic beat, imagine Franz Ferdinand without the fey art school pretensions or a rawer, less doom laden version of Editors, fusing guitars and electro after watching Blade Runner on repeat.

Closing track “End Of The Line” features Sean performing vocal aerobics, reminiscent of a younger, less narcissistic version of Matt Bellamy, as the band detonate a cannoncade of explosive beats and searing guitars, sounding like the three horsemen of a pop apocalypse. Bloc Party would love to sound like this; it’s relentless, imaginative and impossible to get out of your head, whilst it has the raw electro nu-rave energy of say, the Klaxons, but with much bigger bollocks…..

2009
- The Von Pip Musical Express

If I am honest SomaHigh has always been one of those bands that everyone has loved and I have thought they were OK. They are definitely gifted musically but I always saw them as Southampton’s answer to Radiohead and for awhile they seemed trapped by their influences.

With their single “Lo-Fat”, Soma High have shook off the chains of anything I ever saw holding them back and have gone for a great lo-fi punk approach to their music. This is a bold step for them but one in the right direction. “Lo-Fat” kicks of with a nice bit of dirge guitar that hasn’t sounded this fresh since Ash released “Jack Names The Planets” way back when I had hair and people still loved a particular Glam Metal Leader!

The chorus of “You can’t outsmart me! You’re a moron!” is crying out to be merchandised to death and hey, why not! I can see that t-shirt being all over every festival this summer. If its not it should be, and if someone reading this from SomaHigh wishes to give me my 10% cut for suggesting it in the first place then I will happily take that 10%.

“Lo-Fat” is a solid piece of post punk riot that should not be ignored by the music industry. As I mention in my column “A Call To Arms” the biggest problem SomaHigh may face is getting this song heard nationally and internationally. We all need to do are bit! To start with the video of “Lo-Fat” is available now on mINtSOUTH TV so get watching, and on 23rd February 2009 get buying. SomaHigh will be doing their bit, can you do yours?

SomaHigh are also playing at our Website launch party on 22nd Feb @ The Soul Cellar.

2009

- mINtSOUTH

What bands need nowadays is a signature sound; Southampton's SomaHigh have discovered their unique sound and use to the max!! 'Lo Fat' complete with 'Tell You What' and 'End Of The Line' demonstrate SomaHigh's shit-hot sonic wall of sound beautifully and suggest that SomaHigh are destined for pop stardom any time soon.

SomaHigh's awesome sound is built on the solid immovable foundations of explosive bass and monstrous drums - then, guitar and keys become one, unseperable, almost indistinguishable to produce the 'key' SomaHigh dynamic that gives their electro-rock new meaning and fresh focus. Vocally, SomaHigh show great range and wonderful control as the voices soar over and through the electric melee like another instrument and yet retain great clarity and emotion. The sound is big, beaty and absolutely, undeniably, 'now'. All three songs are well written and beautifully crafted to show off the SomaHigh way; they are all very instant, extremely hooky and pretty unforgettable.

SomaHigh pound out their music with total disregard for the listeners hearing and/or sanity. They slash through the ether with their full-on electric onslaught and ensure that once heard they stay heard - SomaHigh make a distinguished yet somehow elegant 'noise' that's hard to ignore and even harder to forget - SomaHigh's brazen sound is massive and absolutely compelling. As track three, the brilliant 'End Of The Line', ends you feel compelled to press 'play' yet again to see if what you just heard was really as good as you initially thought - it was, it is - it's stunning!

'Lo Fat' and its two accompanying songs demonstrate fantastic vision and breathtaking energy; thankfully, SomaHigh haven't taken the retro road, they've contrived to come up with electro modernity and they've managed to mixed it with a big chunk of pop sensibility such that their end product is original, innovative and yet extremely commercial. 'Lo Fat' by SomaHigh has the potential to be a big 'hit'; its full-on vibe and punchy groove should see it getting loads of radio exposure and SomaHigh could be on the brink of pop notoriety!

2009 - Toxic Pete