Search - The South :: You Are Here

Another great South album

J. Vajgrt | Lawrence, KS USA | 05/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I simply love this band. I must admit that I didn't like this album at all after the first listen, but I find that I often have to hear an album a few times before I can fully pass judgment. I gave it some more time, and by the third listen, this album clicked with me. I am now obsessed and can't get it out of my head or out of my CD player.



South's sound has certainly evolved again. Each of their albums has been a progression and a triumph over the previous release, and "You Are Here" is no exception to this trend.



South seems to have made a conscious effort to expand their sound, and they have certainly done so. It's hard for me to define what this album sounds like. It simultaneously sounds just like South and nothing like South. The opening track "Wasted" kicks off with a barrage of piano, acoustic guitars, and horns with an underlying synth-type sound that creates an odd sort of tension. This whole album presents an ebb and flow of audible conflict and resolution, sometimes occurring withing mere seconds, at other times taking much more time to develop.



Track 2, "Opened Up" is one of the album's highlights. The verses of this song are highly reminiscent of some of the sunnier moments on South's last effort "Adventures in the Underground, Journey to the Stars," but the chorus quickly moves in a new direction and sweeps into a gut-wrenching melody accompanied by swirling effects and semi-twangy guitars.



Track 3, "Better Things," is probably the most consistently cheerful song on the album and is very catchy. Track 6 "She's Half Crazy" is the furthest of South's sonic ventures. The song sounds to me like Roy Orbison frantically co-wrote a reggae-funk-rock song with South. Sound weird? It kind of is...



Track 8 "The Creeping" is a stripped-down acoustic song and is one of my personal favorites from the album. It moves right into "Lonely Highs" which sounds like Enio Morricone might have composed the horns from the opening.



Track 10 is probably South's most rocking song to date. "Soul Receivers" is my favorite track on the album. The song has nothing but great rock riffs throughout, and I can't help but nod my head or drum with my fingers as I listen.



Track 11 is simply beautiful. "Every Light Has Blown" is a piano-heavy and epic sounding tune full of rich lyrical imagery. I love it!



Track 12 "Balloons" clocks in at 31 seconds and leaves me wanting much, much more.



This album is great. It certainly has a mood to it. The vocals seem oddly airy and distant at times, and the effect can be moving. There is also an underlying garage element to the sound of the whole album, yet just about every song is very layered and meticulously detailed. It's an odd combination - small garage intimacy mixed with a depth of sound that could never possibly be contained in a space as small as a garage. The result is an innovative and original piece of work that I personally find very impressive. South is tragically underrated in my opinion, and they just keep getting better."

I respect these guys

Nobody | 05/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"But I don't like them very much. The melodies are solid, I like Joel's soft vocals in the mix, there's many good things here, a mature and professional work. But . . . they have a laid back semi garage feel to a lot of the music, primitive guitar progressions and too-basic song structures. It's difficult to define, they seem to be trying to portray themselves in a certain fashion, kind of XTC by way of Athens, if you catch my drift. Whatever they're doing, it puts me off, I'm kind of annoyed by their sound, best personified by something like the marching beat in "Life". Personal preference is no basis for a review, and I'm forced to give this CD high marks, you'll probably like it a lot more than I. I wish they would take these musical ideas, tighten up the sound and drive it, because there's a seed of something good here that hasn't quite sprouted to my mind."