One of the bands I grew up on was NIN. I was a fan back in the early 90’s and followed their trajectory ever since. They have influenced plenty of musicians over their years and there seems to be no doubt that they had an effect on Jonah Clemens. On his release Feel The Same there are too many similarities to not notice the influence on the album. That being said I liked the album and thought there were a number of really strong songs.
“The Lonely One” is one of the highlights. The thing that really stuck out was the bass line on this song which drives the songs. It’s smooth and distortion from the guitar trails the bass. “Time To” explores the depths of depression with vocals that yearn for better days. The guitar work is great and I thought the backward type effects worked well in the song. “Out of Here” was one of the songs where I was like this could be a NIN B-side. He sounds like Trent and the beat sounds like a hybrid of a couple of songs from The Fragile. “Find Me” is covered in distorted guitars and an electronic heavy beat and “I'll Be It” contains some intense peaks. Clemens showcases some more skill with songs like “Wish For” and album highlight “Feel The Same.” “Golden Sun(feat. rough ride of crafts)” has great production. I loved the way the percussion, distortion and vocals melded together. “Intermission” had its moments while the nihilistic “I Don’t Care” and “Nothing I Want” could have worked on Downward Spiral. Clemens has a ton of talent in a number of areas. The truth however is that he will have to find his own signature sound if he wants to gain more attention. He is a young guy in college and has plenty of time to figure it out. I remember being in a similar situation when I was a music major. Most of the songs I wrote sounded like Radiohead. Some good strategies are to become interested in different styles. Maybe listen to jazz for a couple months. The other thing is if you are going to write make sure not to listen to music before you do so. Overall, Clemens is a case of wait and see. He has the chops. Now he just needs to define his style.
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