get along - WE TRIED SO HARD TO BE SO COOL EP

Get Along

We Tried So Hard To Be So Cool EP
self-released; 2013

3.6 out of 5

By Dan Donley

I always wonder what it would be like to be in a band with your significant other. I have to imagine there are pros and cons. In the case of Nicholas James and Cara Summer who are a married duo under the name of “Get Along” there seem to be more pros. The band is a mishmash of genres. The vocals are soulfully song by Cara who sounds a bit similar to Ann Wilson from Heart.  The songs are a bit all over the place sometimes infusing electronica and at other times sounding very traditional. The sound they are going for needs a hi-fi quality and this wasn’t apparent through some of the songs. Despite the occasional blunder this is most importantly a heart-felt record that was an ode to one of their friends who passed away.  According to the band a number of songs are directly about this event and exploring the human emotion to be loved. The EP We Tried So Hard to Be So Cool is ultimately about finding solace and finding joy in what you do have. I personally can’t think of much of a better reason to start making music.

The EP starts off on the right foot with “The Good.” Everything works well here. I was loving Summer’s soulful voice, crushing drums. and organ. Lasting right under 2 minutes I was hoping to hear more of this style on the next song but unfortunately I didn’t get it. What I got was a synth bass-inspired song that sounded a bit muddy and uninspired compared to the first. The song also suffered a bit because of the lo-fi aesthetic. Luckily, this was the only real misstep. The next song “Kissing Song” was a bit lighter and more organic. It was a good song except I had no idea what to make of the sort of rapping that entered during the middle of the song. The last two songs “I’m Not Alone”  and “Jonah, We’re Listening”  are both soulful numbers. I felt like Summer was conjuring the ghost of Joe Cocker on the last song. I really like the way it ended with electronics. I wish there was more experimentation like that on the whole album. So what we are left with is incredibly heartfelt album that even when it misses the mark on occasion makes up with it with soulful singing, good song-writing and visceral emotion.

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