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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Beyond Here New Dangers Review by Gary Hill This is a new EP from a band out of Nashville. They've been around for a couple years, but this is their first release. I would say that it shows a lot of promise for great things to come, but it's not great - although it is very good. What these guys do well is writing catchy and solid alternative rock tunes. What they don't do as well is bring their own sound to it. As effective as most of these tracks are (with one exception) it all feels too familiar - like we've heard it before from any number of faceless bands. The good news is that they have the hard part down, creating songs that are both catchy and meaty. All they need to do now is figure out how to make a sound that is their own. In the meantime, this might feel a bit generic, but it's also entertaining. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

Track by Track Review

Fake It Till You Miss It String swipe starts the song and EP. They fire out into some hard rocking textures from there. When the vocals join the tune takes on an alternative rock and pop sound. This isn't extremely unique or original, but it's very well done and effective.

Disappear Less edgy than the opener, this focuses more fully on the pop rock end of things. It still has an alternative rock edge. It's a bit too generic to work well for me, but the vocal performance has some interesting charms to it.

Go There There is some particularly powerful guitar soloing on this. The tune is edgy and driving. This shows a lot of promise despite the rather generic sound.

New Man There is a cool stuttering rhythmic element here. It brings an almost funky edge. This tune is more melodic and one of the most creative and unique things here. They really manage to break out of the box here. While I tend to prefer the sound on some of the other tunes, the creativity shown on this piece really pushes it to the front of the set.

Young One With a good balance between the mellower, more melodic side and the rocking zones, this cut also manages to be a bit more original. That originality isn't to the level of that shown in the previous tune, but it's there. I dig some of the energized hard rocking textures on this tune. It's a good choice for closer.

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