So Sweet The Hour

So Sweet the Hour has a leg up on its pop competition already. We hear about band members meeting in high school and then polishing their sound as they approach adulthood. The boys who make up So Sweet the Hour met in junior high and quickly launched their music career in San Antonio.

Last summer, the band recorded its first EP, Ready When You Are, which was self-released. So Sweet the Hour caught the attention of Grammy-nominated producer Mack Damon, who worked with the band on its first full-length album A Better Way to Say Okay.

Guitarist Matt Zavala, originally from McAllen, started playing the six-string when he was 11 years old. Though Matt moved to San Antonio with his mother more than a decade ago, he has strong family connections to the Valley, and he always looks forward to visiting.

So Sweet the Hour’s CD release party, held at the White Rabbit in San Antonio earlier this year, drew more than 900 people who showed up to support the band, making So Sweet the Hour the only local band to sell out the venue.

The boys of So Sweet the Hour have grown up a bit since their first release of the EP Ready When You Are, and their first full-length album A Better Way to Say Okay shows signs that they’ve matured – but maybe a bit too much.

Lyrics in some of the songs are surprisingly adult for a group of high school teens – “Dig your nails/Into my skin/We’ll let it all/Come crashing in,” from the song “Everything They Want.”

A shot of powerpop kicks off the album on the fan favorite track, “Manhattan.” I’d say the song has been cleaned up from the single and EP versions, but it sounds dirtier. It starts with drums instead of the plucking of a guitar string. When the guitar does come in, it’s full of distortion. So Sweet the Hour has improved this track on all levels – Ian Davis’ vocals are stronger and the music fits the song better.

After “Manhattan” though, the powerpop takes a back seat.

“Everything They Want” has an addictive riff and a vocal style that reminds me of Coheed and Cambria. The music and vocals of “These Lights” is reminiscent of Fall Out Boy, though there’s an effect on the second verse that’s distracting and doesn’t work at all.

The cover of Def Leppard’s “Photograph” is nearly a replica. So Sweet the Hour’s version is younger and more modern, but still has that ’80s rock sound.

The title track closes out the album, but it’s a disappointment. It could be a great power ballad, but the song is too big for Davis.

Given a little more time to incubate and the boys of So Sweet the Hour should grow into their sound. - The Monitor (themonitor.com)