Youth Group Version of Experimental

Artist: Marcelo Radulovich

Song: “Turn on the Phone” (from the CD Mercurio)

Heard By: Tracey McDonough, Point Loma

Marcelo Radulovich — you need to choose a sound because you are going all over the place. You’re not experimental. I feel like it’s the “youth group” version of experimental. I understand that you have a computer, but you just need to lay off on the effects. You have way too much shit going on. You need to make it more heartfelt. You need to take out all the salsa/Santana influences because it just makes you sound really bad. The synthesizer was used really poorly. I feel like if he had some sort of focus it would be all right but instead he just did a mish-mash. They lyrics were poor; they seemed like they were trying to be very motivating in a “church” sort of way. It was religious in nature.

Artist: Autotonic

Song: “Coincidental Confidence” (from their self-titled EP)

Heard By: Kristi Pinterich, New York City

I thought it was all right. It was a lot of genres mixed into one song. It started off kind of like cookie-cutter rock. His vocals reminded me of Jack White and then all of a sudden it was, like, oh my god! Jack White meets Puddle of Mudd/Metallica! It just kept switching back and forth. The lyrics were catchy — very “rhyming” — something about “dying” and “trying.” I could see it being popular. It’s very San Diego. It was bass, guitar, drums, and vocals. Nothing really stood out. There wasn’t, like, a flute in the background…maybe that would’ve been nice. I think it’d be a really good song for cruising down the freeway and going way too fast.

Artist: Arm the Angels

Song: “Last Goodbye” (from the CD Haunt this Town)

Heard By: Danny West, Point Loma

I’m going to start off by saying I was glad that it was only three minutes long. It was nothing that really caught my ear. I’ve heard this same sort of song a hundred times at least on 91X or any alternative radio station. They can play their instruments, I’ll give them that. I don’t really listen to My Chemical Romance, but I sat through a video one time because it looked cool and they kind of reminded me of that. I could see tons of 15-year-old girls rockin’ out to this. They could definitely make it. That’s what the market is all about right now. I could see a gathering of high school misfits listening to that song in a garage and smoking weed for the first time.