ARTIST: Surroundsound
TITLE: The Sun Is On Our Side
LABEL: Flash Phobic
GENRE: Rock
TIME: 50:02 min
SIZE:  87,9 MB
RIP DATE: Aug-12-2006
RELEASE DATE: Aug-09-2006
WEBSITE: n/a

Track List:

01. The Sun Is On Our Side                     04:34
02. Bedroom Eyes                               03:18
03. Wake Up                                    03:31
04. Sophia                                     04:10
05. Anything At All                            03:15
06. Please Come Home                           03:06
07. Can't Complain                             03:32
08. Feedback                                   03:42
09. Nobody Shows                               02:13
10. Made To Float                              03:19
11. The Transient                              03:46
12. As Good As Gone                            02:57
13. Ghost                                      03:21
14. Star                                       05:18

Release Notes:

Illinois' Surround Sound claim influences like
Superdrag, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, and the
Posies. Not surprisingly then, their debut, The Sun
Is on Our Side, sounds like the quintet was entirely
weaned on '90s power pop. Aside from some sporadic
piano tinkering, the band consistently relies on a
strong guitar presence (there are three guitarists,
after all) to steer through the album's 14 tracks.
Starting off with one of their most memorable cuts,
the Ted Leo-esque title track bounces forward with
youthful warmth before "Bedroom Eyes" bursts next
with a lovely and comforting undercurrent of brass.
While the record is rather consistent from start to
finish, the band could have stood to chop a few
songs off the final track listing or tightened up
some individual arrangements. Though, actually, this
desired tightening is really the only thing to gripe
about. The album is pretty charming and enjoyable
via Surround Sound's earnest energy and charisma --
especially in lead singer Bobby Lord's solid
delivery -- but 50 minutes is just a bit of
overkill. Nevertheless, length is just an
afterthought when a band as young as this already
seems to have such a firm grasp of harmonious
melodies and hooky force. A promising debut that,
with continued growth and trimmed-up songwriting,
bodes quite well for Surround Sound's future.
