Nov 20 2008
Self Made Soul - The Future Belongs To Us
Self Made Soul
The Future Belongs To Us
Self-Released; 2008
If you were to assemble ten quasi-independent music critics in a tiny room, invariably, the majority of them would declare the death of most traditional music genres (and have been doing so for years). Not only will these know-it-alls bemoan how the major labels and radio stations have watered down the product to make a cheap buck, but they’re also going to bring up how fractured each scene has become, stating that it’s all devolved into a number of competing, hyphenated subgenres. Granted, both of those reasons serve as two of my own whipping boys on a regular basis, but they often become cheap crutches for actual music criticism and serve as blinders from recognizing that decent music still exists in the world.
Take, for instance, a band like Self Made Soul and their sophomore album, The Future Belongs To Us. Merging together the guitar growl of turn-of-this-century post-grunge, the oomph of ‘80s power rock, and the singable elements of melodic screamo, the band has taken all of those fancy musical modifiers and had made a straight-ahead rock record. The band really isn’t doing anything that new – the songs are all shining examples of driving rock ballads – but they manage to accomplish it with little to no bombast or affectation and that is what makes them sound somewhat fresh in comparison to their radio counterparts. Why isn’t this band on the radio, but crap like Nickelback and Hinder are? Stylistically, Self Made Soul might not be my style, but I would much rather partake of their brand of rock than the typical mundane brand of mope-inducing, tuned-down cock rock that plagues our airwaves. And to think: if I hadn’t set down my “Woe Is Rock!” placard, I might have missed this band.
