Review: Son Of Rams - S/T

There's a reason so many bands try to emulate the sound of the sixties today. Well, there's a multitude of reasons, but the biggest one is how iconic the sound is. For its time, it was a huge culture shock to an already jostled population, constantly worried about communism, Vietnam, whether or not they were going to miss The Andy Griffith Show, I mean, the list of terrors were endless. Psychedelic music took a stronghold, and shit hit the fan. It was dangerous, but not to the teenagers who would later become our parents, and certaintly not to us, the children they had and introduced the music to. It was iconic, displaying a lasting power really no other era of music can try to ever overtake (I'm looking at you 90's). With Son Of Rams self titled album, I could tell they too felt the eras overpowering influence. Maybe a bit too overpowering.

"In Kind" and "No Concept/No Logic" sound like bootlegs from some unknown British Invasion band. That's really a testament to how true these guys are to their craft, echoing a nostalgic cool a lot of bands try today, but fail to succeed at. "7th Wonder" adds another solid track to the album, really driving home an obvious influence by The Beatles. These were really my three favorite tracks on the album, and should be examples of how the band should approach their sound going forward. 

Son Of Rams also sound like they were influenced by the Brit-pop phenomenon of the late nineties, which, really shouldn't be mentioned since those bands tried to sound like The Beatles too. But with songs like "This Wisdom" and "Flying Tigers" adding a bit of a poppier vibe to them, it had to be mentioned. They're both terrific genres to try to copy, while making your own, and for the most part, Son Of Rams do that. They haven't fully mastered the sound yet, but once they do, these guys could be big in a heartbeat.

Some of the songs on the album fall short of their desired goals, and that may be the only big problem I have with this album. "Ancients", "Spanish Mansions" and "The Veteran: James Page" are fairly weak additions to an otherwise good album. They're not bad songs, I turn off bad songs instantly. They just felt lethargic and uninspired, which made me a little upset since their album was really flowing at a great pace. Even the Rolling Stones had songs I felt weren't great, so Son Of Rams needn't worry about anything. 

Son of Rams is worth a listen for the nostalgia alone. But these guys really know how to write a rock song, and that's worth a listen as well. It may not be the best album I've listened to this year, but it certainly adds them to an ever growing list of bands I need to keep an eye on going forward. And that's iconic in its own right - Shane