Labels: Tiny Engines
Review by: Rob Mair
If you’ll indulge me, I’ll start with a story”¦
I was sent “Temple of Plenty’ a few months ago, and in between excellent efforts by The Hotelier, Gameface and La Dispute, I found myself listening to “Temple of Plenty’ more than I actually thought I would.
On top of that, barely a week went by without one friend or another texting, tweeting or sending me a message on Facebook urging me to check it out.
Which tells me two things: 1) “Temple of Plenty’ is really rather good, and 2) I have fantastically predictable taste in music”¦
Anyway, Somos play pretty straightforward indie/emo-rock. There’s plenty of nods to Braid, American Football and the like, and the vocals, although plaintive, work perfectly with the chiming guitars and brisk tempo. Also, there’s more than a few killer songs “” especially in the second half of the album, where it feels Somos really hit their stride, with “Strangest Example’, and “Lifeline’ really standing out. In a year when there’s been a slew of great US indie-rock records, Somos certainly deserves to be included alongside more lauded contemporaries. “Temple of Plenty’ certainly feels like an album that will pick up fans quickly and easily over the next twelve months, and harks back to those days of word-of-mouth albums where everybody has been able to take something from it and is eager to share their discovery.