Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. When I go to
see a band play live, I want to walk out ofthere saying
“Man, that was great! They played hard, they gave it all they
got, they rocked my world and their shit was together …
fuckin’ cool!” And I’d rather be able to say it without having
to have had the entire experience blurred into enjoyment by
cheap ass draft.
Inner Surge let me do that. I had the chance to check the
band out a few months back at Calgary’s Level 4 Nightclub
(formerly Bourbon Street, formerly Rebar, formerly Dunes,
formerly Gargoyles, etc.) On a cramped little stage, with too
many musicians for the space they had to play in, Inner
Surge kicked some serious ass. The strength of the live
show rests in the rhythm section – a driving combination of
bass and percussion that reminded me somewhat of bands
like Tool and Rage Against the Machine. They’re the only
hard alternative rock band I’ve seen employ a Digeridoo,
which made me snicker at first but won me over soon after.
They played a great set and I wouldn’t think twice about
seeing them again.
At the heart of Inner Surge is one Steve Moore. He’s a
talented guy, don’t get me wrong, but on Solus Verum he
seems to have maybe bitten off a bit more than he could
chew. On the album, Moore composed, performed and
produced the music almost entirely by himself, bringing in
only a handful of guest musicians on very few of the songs.
The music is well written and for the most part well
performed, but Moore’s abilities as a producer are
questionable. The vocals on most of the tracks sound, to be
blunt, pretty awful, and could benefit greatly from the
experience a professional producer would bring to the mix.
The problem is not that Moore is bad singer, it’s just that on
this CD he is pretty poorly recorded. There are places on
the album where the music seems to drown itself out in a
blur of fuzzy bass sounds. Solus Verum would make a great
demo, and it is passable as an album, but I’m afraid it
doesn’t hold up as well as it could.
Despite the points it loses on technical merit, Solus Verum
has more heart and soul in it than anything in the same
vein has shown in years. Steve Moore’s passion for his
music and lyrics shows through on every song the CD.
These songs are some of the most politically motivated
I’ve heard in a long time, especially on the local scene.
Give Moore credit, this is a big project for one guy to try to
undertake by himself. Realistically, he should’ve had more
help with Solus Verum than he seems to have had. If the
live show they put on is any indication of what they’re
capable of, I look forward to hearing more from Inner
Surge in the future.
Live show – 9/10
CD – 6.5/10
-chris parasyte
Tag: Independent
-
Inner Surge – Solus Verum