My first, and ultimately only, experience of Saosin was ‘Translating The Name’. I thought it was pretty average stuff – a very good vocalist carrying a band that didn’t really have too many fresh ideas, but for whatever reason had a growing fanbase and the critics eating out of the palm of their hand. And then the band imploded; Anthony Green quit and Cove Reber replaced him. While Reber is no bad singer, for me anyway, he lacks the vocal gymnastics of Green. He’s just not as ‘special’.
I didn’t listen to the last record because I had no want to do so. I was sent this album so I feel duty bound to say a few words. My initial reaction was actually that opener ‘Keep My Secrets Safe’ was a decent start, but the longer the album goes on you realise the band have stuck to a very rigid formula and very rarely move away from it. ‘In Search…’ is really boring after a while. It’s an album that sounds very safe. Reber’s vocals never sound stretched and the verses and choruses are all good, but never great. There’s just something missing which would set this album apart from many others. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely not here.
When the band drop the pace, as they do on ‘The Alarming Sound of a Still Small Voice” and ‘It’s All Over Now’ they sound thoroughly dull. And I remember why I wasn’t that fussed about the band in the first place.