Six months ago there was a hell of a lot of hype about Saosin. I think it’s proof that the internet is easily the best marketing tool, as majors allegedly clambered to sign the band up. And all this hype was over one record, ‘Translating The Name’, which received glowing reviews everywhere. Sadly for the band, things went sour and the singer left and I believe, although I may be wrong, Saosin are no more. As I pride myself of being at the cutting edge of music, here is a review – better late then never, eh?!
Is ‘Translating the Name’ worthy of the hype? Well, no actually. To me it’s little more than a weak Coheed and Cambria clone that, while a technically competent record, has little originality and contains the usual borrowed riffs circling the post-hardcore genre like a crow waiting for its prey. I can sense you’re all shaking your heads and disagreeing with me, but hear me out. While CoCa are, quite rightly, one of the leading lights in the genre, pioneering a unique take on the genre with a sound that they can call their own, Saosin cannot pull this off. My thoughts immediately go straight towards the vocal similarities between Sasoin frontman Anthony and CoCa warbler Claudio; for me it’s all too close, and while the vocals on this recording are excellent, it’s extremely obvious where his influences lie.
Throw in some Glassjaw (let’s face it, every one of these bands rips off Daryl and co in some way) with the riffs, which again are technically performed well but devoid of anything new, and you start to get the Saosin sound. There are melodic parts, screaming parts and the usual cliched bits, but it is performed to a high standard – making tracks such as ‘Seven Years’ and ‘3rd Measurement In C’ good songs, but nothing that will be capturing the imagination a few months down the line. The production is pretty good as everything fuses together really well, but the whole EP falls down on the lack of originality. Records can get away with being unoriginal if they are blindingly good, but, to me, Saosin aren’t. Half decent maybe, earth-shattering no.
The downside of the world wide web is that you can create a buzz about a band that aren’t all their cracked up to be. I bought this record because EVERYONE was talking about it, yet I don’t think it lives up to the hype at all. The only bands that excite me in this genre now are the ones who at least try and push the envelope back, or ones that attempt to do something a little original or unique. Why the need to listen to Saosin when Coheed and Cambria already do it better? Having said all that, this is better than most, but not enough to warrant the hype and I doubt this will do more than gather dust 12 months down the line.
Paul