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Tortured Soul tries to create a mark of existence in a
shallow pool of culture, successful in creating a useable product,
but failing to stand out in a crowd. House music is a hard medium
to carve a niche in, even if you are successful at creating the
rhythms; the ultimate test of these would-be bands is to create
something lasting. So, I am out at a club and Tortured Soul comes
on, slipped between some other inane beat inspired songs, and
I keep moving 'cause I can, and do. Would I remember the song?
Would I want to go out and buy it? The answer would have to be:
no. That is not saying this group doesn't deserve a place in the
ultimate grand-scheme of things. Believe me; I am sick to death
of hearing the same songs over and over again in clubs. DJs constantly
need to replenish their arsenal of material, and that is where
Tortured Soul could come in, innocuous, milquetoast, but yet solid
and steady.
Christian Ulrich is the driving nature of this band,
he writes the songs, sings and plays the drums. I have a deep
respect for drummers that sing; it is significantly different
(and more difficult in my opinion) from those musicians that have
to do the same. He pulls it off amazingly well, with a rich voice
and a decent depth of soul for the measure. Unfortunately because
of this double duty of drumming and singing, the drums can't evolve
beyond a basic timekeeping device for the songs. The instrumental
"Epic" is the closest he has to varying his drumming
technique, and even for this song, I feel like he is holding back.
Another thing that just itches at me as I listen to him is the
overall effect his voice has. He is an awesome singer with a lot
of definite R&B stylings, yet, as amazing as his voice and
style are, I can't help but feel his heart isn't into it. There
is a reason it is called "soul" after all, it needs
to come from there.
Keyboardist Ethan White adequately fills the gaps left by
an already busy drummer, and his layering shows some astute choices
for emphasis in the structure. He needs to be more experimental
though, stepping it up on his end could drastically improve the
quality of the material.
The real star of the band in my eyes is bassist Jason Kriveloff.
His influence is hard to gauge throughout the whole album, but
it appears when he has free reign to move. At these moments he
just takes off. "Why" and "Enjoy It Now" show
that this boy has skills, yet is refined enough not to draw attention
in other songs, a true team player. Because of his unsung hero
status on this album, he has made my "dream team" list
of band members, fluid, stylish, and understated at the right
moments. Nice job, man, nice job.
The only thing stopping this band from really being known out
there is a hook; a good, catchy song that would just explode their
fan base. Until then, DJs should definitely pick up this band
as filler, and sit back and let the beat continue till the next
song.
-bishop
Track Listing:
1. I Might Do Something Wrong
2. How's Your Life
3. Why
4. Fall In Love
5. You Found A Way
6. Epic
7. Enjoy It Now
8. Don't Hold Me Down
9. Love Everlasting
10. If You Want To Feel Alright
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