No, really?

This morning a friend of mine got a phone call that a close personal friend had passed away due to cancer. Even more nutty is that my friend saw this person not more than 3 days ago. They had made plans for getting together in Southern California in September. When you’re sitting there as a friend gets news like that, it’s a bit like, hmmmm, what should I do now. My choice was it sit there and be silent as they dealt with their emotions. I did not know the person who passed away. I only recently heard about them. Sad is the one thing I can say it would be. Do I know what it’s like to lose a close personal friend to cancer, no. Have I lost friends to cancer, yes.

One thing I can imagine is that friends who are involved on a “more than friends” basis would be inclined to hold each other and likely kiss. Which is where I’m connecting today’s choice of Kiss Me by Sound of Surrender. A band out of San Diego that has come to my ears. To start, I’m going to say that they have a very familiar approach and sound to their music. It’s nothing groundbreaking in terms of the production. What hooked me in the beginning was the format to the verse. I really liked it’s sparse vibe and simple words with melody. The chorus kicks in like a power pop tune should. Cool guitar riffs. A very listenable vocalist. Smart pop production for ear candy items. The song itself is there – that’s where it ends.

They draw comparisons to bands like All American Rejects, however I’m more apt to say they have a vibe by much younger cats like Show Me The Skyline. In fact, in listening to the song, the one thing that is highly disappointing is how fucking stupidly compressed and loud it is. It’s lucky that the song is really cool because I would normally pass this in a heartbeat because of the volume and compression alone. I dislike having to say something detracting when I’m featuring a song here, but Sound of Surrender could really use a cue from Show Me The Skyline for retaining a modern sound without the need for compressing and limiting the living snot out of the song. The reality is, despite me liking the tune it’s not something I could listen to over and over again because of that issue alone.

If you’re seriously into the brickwalled sound of wash and volume, you got something you need to dig into here. Otherwise, keep the fingers crossed that the people involved decide to rerelease the album with a better mix that doesn’t kill the vibe they created.