MUSIC REVIEW: lokalgrown reminiscent of Colors
Utah State University seems to be good at turning out a certain brand of band. Just as our beloved Colors leaves the limelight, another band steps in to take their place.
lokalgrown, as the facetiously misspelled name implies, is the new crowd of local boys ready to swoon the ladies and get people on their feet dancin’. Their new CD, a thousand times yes, is filled with 12 songs ready for campus delight.
Before listening to the new CD, all I knew about this band is that their name was everywhere. If the band is lacking in originality, it sure makes up for it in publicity. Their new CD has a few fresh sounds, but many of the songs are very similar to the stuff we heard produced by their collegiate predecessors, Colors. “everything’s the same” (Track 10) is much like music we have already heard.
The first track, “atmosphere,” has a refreshing bongo rhythm and smooth lyrics. The band made a good choice by putting this song first on the album. It pulled me in and got me excited for what was to come. Unfortunately, the next couple of songs dragged a bit. The intros were too long and made my attention wane.
One notable talent these boys possess is their way with words. While soothing the audience with light guitar playing, they work their way into your mind with sweet words. This album was definitely targeted toward the ladies in their lives.
“I stutter and stumble as I try to find all the right words to say. When you’re gone, I miss you, and I’d die to kiss you even though my lips would probably shake.”
Lyrics like this make much of the album have a feeling of longing to be with that special someone.
I hate to keep comparing them to Colors, but the resemblance is uncanny. If I had been given the opportunity to listen to a Colors album before going to a concert, I would have probably said the same thing about them, too. All of their songs focus on love and the cheesier things in life, but at the same time they were rather easy on the ears. From what I have heard, lokalgrown concerts are fun to attend and the audience gets very excited – just like Colors. I’m sure they are great in concert and enjoyable to watch.
I also think hearing one song at a time would be a lot better than sitting and listening to the whole CD. After a while, the songs seem to run together, but listened to individually the acoustic sounds can be a relief from a hard day of studying.
The CD will be available Friday, and a release concert is being held that night in the Ellen Eccles Theater at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and are available at the USU Ticket Office or at the box office.
Jacob Moon is the features editor for The Statesman. Comments can be sent to jacobomoon@cc.usu.edu.