Band: You The Symphony
Title: Empty Room Philosophies
Label: n/a
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Reviewer: BMer
Tracklist:
1. Disarm
2. What We Use to Be
3. Invisible
4. Sailing
5. I Wish You Would Have Believed Me
6. Walls
You The Symphony have finished their second EP titled Empty Room Philosophies. Like their debut this EP was done without the support of a label. The six-track album features some solid rock / alternative-rock reminiscent of some of rock bands of the late 90’s. The five-piece act from a small town in Pennsylvania shows some maturity from their debut, From Air to Arms, and are starting to show some of the creativity needed to make a name for themselves.
Empty Room Philosophies is solid throughout, strong vocals from lead singer Luke and some very good drumming. The guitars do not seem to be on the forefront of the mix, they provide plenty of ambiance and support but the vocals and drums seem to be leading the music for the most part. Lyrically You The Symphony appear to be touching on some relational issues and some internal evaluation with tracks like “Walls” where Luke sings “this is not the end no, I’ll be back again, swimming towards a new goal.”
Production-wise you find a very raw and somewhat inconsistent sound, what you would expect from an unsigned band; the song-writing is definitely creative and even ambitious at times but comes across somewhat rough and lacking real punch. My favorite track, Disarm, has good energy and the keyboards really add to make the track one of the standouts.
OVERALL fans of rock music will surely enjoy this album. I’m not sure if You The Symphony are doing enough yet to help them stand out from the crowd of bands with Empty Room Philosophies but they’re definitely writing solid music. Songs like “Invisible” and “Disarm” are catchy and energetic, but overall I don’t think we’ll be seeing You The Symphony on the main-stage anytime soon.