SAOSIN
Reviewed by Mike SOS
Southern California quintet Saosin was highly touted as one of only a handful of bands to emerge from suburbia and save every maladjusted kid with its well-textured punk rock sound -- but that’s really hard to do when haven’t released anything since 2003.
Thanks to a departing lead singer and a well-maneuvered underground hermitage, the rapidly-ascending unit had to jam on the brakes rather abruptly and reshuffle the deck. Now it’s 2006, and their eponymous 12-track debut is the end result of this hardened journey, producing a Warped Tour-goer’s wet dream of a disc.
A glistening and pristine piece of post-hardcore, Saosin delivers an impressive array of intricately heartfelt rock anthems for the new generation (even if the devices employed by the quintet seem to run a bit too familiar these days and lead singer Colin Reber’s voice is a tad too high-pitched for most guy rockers to hone up to digging).
Songs like “It’s So Simple,” “Finding Home,” and “Collapse” showcases some of the most developed and dramatic rock this side of Taking Back Sunday, Thrice, Far, and Thursday, while “It’s Far Better to Learn” intellectualizes the pop-punk riff to a grad school level.
Falling somewhere between the rich sound recreations of Dredg and the uncanny contagiousness of New Found Glory, Saosin’s hiatus has rendered a grand comeback for a band who can now be considered a complete entity once again.
For more information, check out http://www.saosin.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2006 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 26 Nov 2008 02:33:54 -0600.
