Socialburn

Produced by the wonder boy of the moment John Philip Kurzweg (Creed and Puddle of Mudd), Where Are You has way more sophistication than you’d expect from four boys bred out of the farming community of Blountstown, FL (between Tallahassee and Panama City). Main songwriter and lyricist Neil Alday has an interestingly unique writing approach to everyday topics that are heard on almost every alt-rock record out today. It may be the innocence of youth in his lyrics ("Cause there is always somebody who’s out there waiting for someone to take them away”), or Socialburn’s slight combination of lo-fi rock with big sound metal. Or maybe it is the band’s every boy America looks. Or all these combined that makes Where Are You a fine record. The guitars are basic, almost reminiscent of the garage rock of days past. Alday expresses the spectrum of emotions expertly including a nasty sarcastic bite in the vocals on "Happy.” Although guitarist Chris Cobb doesn’t get too many innovative sounds out of his instrument, he has a good instinct to what the disc needs. Each song has a distinct sound making the entire record worth listening to — a task that is lost on so many young bands.