It was the mid ’90s and after class was out in high school we would jam on the front porch with a guitar. No one had a laptop back then so we would just record to tape. The songs were derivative from band's like Neutral Milk Hotel, Modest Mouse and The Smashing Pumpkins. I loved it because it was just visceral and a good way to get rid of the emotions I didn’t know how to handle.
Solar Bear and Voyager 3 make up Retrograde Amnesia and sort of reminds me of my former self. The songs on their EP “If I were you, I would have given up a long time ago” sound similar and are melancholy like the song we wrote. Although I’d say these guys are even more dismal when reading their lyrics. “Myob” does sound like Neutral Milk Hotel at least in spirit. It revolves around a couple of aggressively strummed minor and major chords and emotionally charged singing. It’s a catchy song and is sort of an upbeat mood. That being said the lyrics aren’t particularly joyful with lines like “how you hate me and how I hate you too.” Up next is “home/hope” which is the most realized song. It sounds somewhere between The Microphones and Youth Lagoon. The vocals are completely different sounding here. The vocalist sounds like he barely has enough happiness to sing the words. He sings, “in my eyes you're all I want but all I bring is pain to everyone I see.” The guitar work is great and I will say this was a highlight. “if the voice in my head was a better speaker, maybe I wouldn't hate everything I think” sounds like the beginning of a song that never comes to be. It's a vignette. The depression doesn't seem to have any signs of slowing down on “bound to fall” which is a lot of cymbals, some solid guitar work and a vocal melody. The music certainly has its moments and I enjoyed the cathartic release at the end but the lo-fi recording was literally breaking at the seams. The band delivers four songs all of which sound like they could be from a different band. It does contain that indie rock vibe throughout but it was hard to latch on to any kind of signature sound here. The band has a debut album coming out and I am interested to hear if they can form a signature sound. It doesn't matter if you’re Modest Mouse, Car Seat Headrest or Pavement. This is a key factor to why bands like these gained an audience. I look forward to hearing where this band lands.
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