Indie Music Album Reviews

Sonic Mound - God and the Silhouettes

8/17/2015

Sonic Mound

God and the Silhouettes
self-released; 2015

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Tommy Colangelo aka Sonic Mound is on to something with his music but he isn’t quite there yet. On his release God and the Silhouettes he displays some very solid songwriting with some inventive techniques. Colangelo describes his music as lo-fi, which can sometimes be a synonym for “below average recording quality.” Sometimes lo-fi works if implemented correctly as you can hear with a band like The Microphones.

In the case of the songs on God and the Silhouettes a boost in production would definitely help out some of these songs. The lyrics are sometimes hard to understand and there is very little low-end on a couple of songs. This is just the beginning of the things that could have elevated the experience. Colangelo mentions that fans of Blood Orange will enjoy God and the Silhouettes. I agree with him. There is a similar essence and if Colangelo can get the recording quality and production to the level of Cupid Deluxe he will be a force to be reckoned with.

The album starts with “Let Her Come Over” which revolves around warbly synths and other drones. Colangelo’s vocals sound as if he barely has the energy to get the words out of his mouth. It sounds somewhere between mumbling and being drunk. I couldn’t make out a single word he was saying but I’m not sure I was supposed to. The music is really pretty good and unusual but engaging. A change or two in regards to the melody would have probably benefited the song.

Colangelo sounds like a ghost on the background on “Feature Feeling.” This is a prime example of a song that could have been elevated by better production. It was begging for deep, driving low-end that simply wasn’t there. That kick drum needed to be felt. All that being said, the song is still one of the best on the album.

“Sp3nt” has some good moments but needed more to happen within the six-plus-minutes to be worthy of that amount of time. The best-produced track goes to “Snakes Eyes.” I’m not exactly sure why but it was a step above everything that preceded it.

If Colangelo can flesh out his ideas and improve the aesthetics on his next release I think his music can be competitive with some of the indie world’s most celebrated artists. God and the Silhouettes shows potential while also containing a number of solid songs.