Sosohuman are one of those bands that took a page from the Spinal Tap guide to starting a band, having gone through around 70 drummers and auditioning nearly 3 times as many more, over the course of 7 years. When they finally found current drummer Rob Oswald, formerly of Queens of the Stone Age and Karma to Burn, he said he joined them because they made "honest music," and that any band just out to make money would've given up by then. So, exactly what does honest music made by this power trio entail?The first time I listened to the disc, the first song or two gave me an impression along the lines of Gin Blossoms meets Bush, although I've since decided that the Bush comparison is the more reasonable of the two. The music owes a lot to post-grunge alternative rock, with crisp distorted guitars and melodic fills. Vocalist Earl has just a little grit to his voice and otherwise has pretty good melodies; the only real complaint with his singing are some of the more ridiculous vocal stutters and fills--they're no more of a show-stopper than they are when Coheed&Cambria do them, but they get a little silly after a while. Bassist Spankee holds the rhythm down well, jumping to the forefront every once in a while with a fill and a few slap riffs.
Lyrically they cover a fair range of topics. The band bio mentions "Bad Taste" as an attack at friends who screw you over, while "Homeless" goes the opposite direction and instead praises those friends who support your crazy dreams. "Punisher" is a particularly dark song, pretty much enumerating the ways you can be self-destructive. The silliest song on the disc, which is also the longest one, is "Pirate Song," which includes the line "This is music you can f--- to, if you take your clothes off." (On the other hand, it's probably great fun to play live, and is a really catchy song; its lyrics are just goofy.)
What it boils down to is that Rob Oswald made a good decision taking a chance on this particular independent band. Sosohuman have constructed an album full of good straight-up rock songs and melodic hooks. I suppose some people might find the pop hooks a bit too much, but that'd be their loss. The above complaints aside, this is a solid, fun album which you shouldn't delay finding a copy of.
