The Poise - Visceral

The Poise

​Visceral
self-released; 2016

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

Robert Chappell (bass), Devin Magallanes (vocals), James Callahan (guitar), Lane Kennedy (guitar) and Alex Armbruster (drums) are The Poise. The band has barely even formed at this point but has managed to squeak out a three-song demo quality EP entitled Visceral EP. All three songs were written in the span of a couple of weeks

At this point the band is in such an embryonic stage that there's no telling what they will sound like once they start to find a sound. At this point the songs have a very early 2000s garage rock feel. In fact the songs often sound eerily similar to The Strokes. Magallanes sounds a lot like Julian Casablancas. It’s the inflection in his voice. 

The fact that many, many bands out there still sound a lot like The Strokes goes to show how influential they were. That being said I remember the same thing happening when I was in high school and every band sounded like Nirvana. This is in part because the music of both Nirvana and The Strokes is easy to replicate. It’s simple 4/4 time music revolving around power chords.

The band starts off with “Covet” which is a catchy, quick song. It’s straightforward with no surprises as the band sticks to garage rock 101. Magallanes sings, “cheaters, they'll never lie and quitters, they'll never die how is the picture rare if i see it everywhere?” Next up “Rooftop” is a little faster but of the same spirit. It is followed up by the almost indispensable “When To Close Your Eyes.”

​I’m impressed the band was able to come up with these songs so quickly but it also displays the band has not had enough time to find their own essence. As for the songs on this EP the band will need to practice their due diligence to separate themselves from a certain band. This more than anything is crucial to any band starting up. Do not wear your influences on your sleeve to the point where it's obvious. All that being said the band has plenty of time to discover who they are and I hope to hear more of that on an upcoming release.

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