Ethers Void

What a brilliant title; let me put it this way, this album starts with an unbearable refrain of "Na na na na na" taken too far and just gets worse from their on in. These guys sound like they would list Treble Charger and Green Day as their biggest influences, and we all know what musical geniuses those guys are. The lead song (the "na na na" song) is actually called "Sunset Eyes," and in it we are treated to some heavily sophomoric treacle about how some guy likes the sunset colour of his girls eyes and he's bummed about feeling like he's losing her. The second cut, "Sonni," actually has some merit, an engaging hook, "well I know I've been there before, I know how she feels," and the admonition "learn to love yourself," but it is a bit like trying to scarf down some cheesecake after a bad piece of salmon. Ethers Void refer to themselves as an "edgy pop/rock quartet," which is kind of a curious way of saying that you've got no chops whatsoever and very little to contribute to the current musical landscape. The third track, "Someday," is completely forgettable. "Changes" reminds us about the impermanent nature of existence and how you know time passes. "It's OK" is kind of a shot at Sublime, without a prolific front-man, but there is a guitar solo. "3 Road" has some sort of a feel to it, with interesting drumming and textures, but doesn't really amount to all that much. The high point of the album is "5 Stroke," as it shows flashes of a strong feel for rock instrumentation and, more importantly, they aren't singing. Perhaps we should forgive them for their rock bottom cultural reference levels.