Search - Stereo Fuse :: Stereo Fuse

Few bands would opt to bookend their debut album with slightly different versions of the same cover song. Given the chance to show the world what you've got, why trust someone else's vision? So it can be surmised that the Dallas-based quartet Stereo Fuse feel confident that the rest of their self-titled disc will leave its own thumbprint. For the most part, they're right--Stereo Fuse, the album, is crunchy, no-frills (if not wildly original) rock given great ballast by Colin Hill, a vocalist so intense his spit practically flies from the speakers. The vaguely metallic "Live Like a God" and "Breathe" are strong examples of Stereo Fuse's fierce guitar-bass-drums growl hugging Hill's screech. But as is often the case, greater joys are found in subtler moments. The aforementioned cover of Material Issue's doe-eyed love song "Everything" puts the band on a slow boil while "Allison"--a relatively sunny pop statement--delivers a sucker punch with its dark lyrics condemning a dead junkie. On "Hey You" the band draws power from a "la la la" chorus while the pleading and insistent "Super Hero" is a hit in waiting. A bit of editing would have spared us the unbearably cliché "Heaven Beside You," but that's a small complaint in the scheme of things. --Kim Hughes