Search - Shades Apart :: Sonic Boom

Pure Power

Jonathon F. Pooser | 05/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sonic Boom hasn't left my CD player since I bought it. I even bought three copies--so I could listen to it in the car, in the house AND at work! It's incredible--high-energy and melodic at the same time, with great rhythms, unforgettable hooks and intense vocals that have undeniable, raw appeal. You can't really compare it to anything else out there, or even to their last album, Eyewitness. The recording is totally different . . . a lot less processed. No special effects, no additional instruments, nothing synthetic. Listening to this CD is really the closest thing to watching them live! The real rockers are Conspiracy, Beat by Beat and Shockwave, and Got Shot Down (my favorite) will get seriously stuck in your head. Gravity has a really good groove. A couple unique surprises are Rebel Teenager from Mars (a cool, kind of "kitchy" 50's sendoff) and Drive All Night (a semi-acoustic, guitar-driven, western-style ballad). Shades Apart have managed (again!) to come up with an excellent collection of tunes that defy definition and surpass everything currently on the radio. Sonic Boom is definitely a keeper!"

Not quite how it used to be but a must have nonetheless

Randy | Delaware | 05/22/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Without a doubt I believe that Shades Apart is one of the most underrated pop-punk, power pop, emo, rock bands to ever grace the face of the earth. I feel that they're a great band because they just have the whole thing balanced out. The guitarist/lead singer Mark writes some of the punchiest hooks and some of the best mini-solos that I've ever heard on a guitar. He's proven the genre to be a lot more sophisticated by adding some more complexity to the modern day drone of power chord after power chord. His solos are some of the most well engineered (from a guitarists point of view) and they're short and humble. When it comes to the complexity of his melodies he really knows how to balance out the jarring chords with the riffs and perhaps his style of writing has influenced mine more than anybody else has. Mark's ability with the written word is also quite captivating. He reflects a whole lifestyle in his writing and brings it all together with some slick phrasing. Some of the parts he plays and sings simultaneously are simply mind blowing. Kevin also adds a great deal of interest to the scene by making some pretty complex basslines to the music which gives the music more depth. He's talented and versatile, doing his rock thing (Shockwave) or doing his skankable raggae inspired groove (Got Shot Down). Ed just seals the package with some killer drum work, making some cool use of paila (wood block sounding) technique on songs such as "Rebel Teenager from Mars" and "Behind the Wheel" They're my favorite music group for those reasons and Sonic Boom fortunately does not shroud their talents. Unfortunately, I just find this to be an awkward sounding change from a lot of their old stuff. Since the tracks on "Sonic Boom" are slowed down a couple notches from some previous efforts such as "Save It" it allows people to really appreciate the talents of the members without having them pass at some blinding speed going unnoticed to most. Unfortunately I just don't think that their newest album holds the same energy that all their other releases had. It seems that the trio tries something new every album. It just seems that there isn't anything too new here. It sounds like the material from "Eyewitness" kicked down a notch. In their evolution they have passed a darker sound for a nicer poppier, next door neighbor one. This is understandable and highly acceptable because these guys hold some serious writing prowess on many genres but unlike their other albums, this one just seemed to fail to stand by itself as one continuous album. Instead of an album of sonic ups and downs and some super strong material, it seems more like "Sonic Boom" is composed of a skeleton of really strong songs (which rank with some of my fave Shades songs) like Conspiracy, Beat by Beat, Gravity, Shockwaves, and Spell held together with some pretty weak cuts like Rebel Teenager from Mars, Superzero, Radioactivated and Drive All Night. Instead of listening to the whole thing through like I do with Seeing Things, Neon, Save It or Eyewitness, I kind of find myself picking and skipping tracks. It's also a tiny bit irritating that they take songs from previous albums (like Seeing Things) and post them into their new albums. I know a lot of people have gripes over things like that but keep in mind at least they fit it into the material around it. I felt that "Behind the Wheel" was the best selection to put into this album and they didn't even have to change it to fit the mood. When they brought "Second Chances" over to Eyewitness they had to slow it down a tad so it would fit in with Eyewitness' sound. It might seems cheap at first but please keep in mind that these guys know what they're doing. In conslusion, Shades is and always will be my favorite band for all of their previous work and until the day I die, their music will always be playing in my radio. Unfortunately this album may sink to the bottom of my playlist. Its sound is most definately Shades and it showcases their different hooks and perks that make them such a great band but the production standing by itself is just a bit watered down this time around. It's a given that the hard nosed fans from the Save It era who griped these same things about the poppier Eyewitness album will throw an even bigger fit over this one. However, if you really liked the poppier stuff from Eyewitness, you will definately dig Sonic Boom as a little more of a sentimental and slower thing. Perhaps I will have a better opinion of this after it has grown on me for a couple of weeks but at this point I feel it's a little weaker than the older stuff. Will you like this? I guess it all depends on how much you liked Eyewitness. If you're an absolute Shades Fan like me then you need this one. If you really like Eyewitness, you'll enjoy this almost as much (maybe even more). Some of the old school people who were leary about Eyewitness might want to examine this one a little further before proceding."