ALBUM REVIEW: Better Than You – Powerized
From Breda in The Netherlands comes pop-rock trio POWERIZED with their self-produced debut album Better Than You. The group describe themselves as dynamic in terms of being multi-instrumental and for the wide range of styles, genres and sounds that they delve into for each of their songs. It’s certainly an impressive statement and something that should draw a lot of people in, but, despite their best efforts, the album is a little frustrating to sit through at points.
The main thing to take away from Better Than You is that the band have nailed it when it comes to the pop production heard throughout each song and you can’t fault them for experimenting. But then this is where the main issue comes in. It’s one thing where sounds blend beautifully together and it’s another when things sound incredibly out of place. As the record opens with Fire Away, the band start out strong with the pop-rock introduction that’s reminiscent of THE 1975 on their debut album, and even of ONE DIRECTION’s Four. As mentioned, it has a solid pop production but by the time we get to the final chorus we’re left frustrated by how forced everything feels, and it’s cheesy to the point where we’re cringing instead of having fun.
And that remains the ongoing issue for the first half of the record where on the one hand we’re praising the attempts at being unique but then becoming frustrated as the songs go on. In a short but sweet version; Raise Your Glass has fun beats and we appreciate the use of an organ but the spoken word segment and the recorded laughter at the end ruins things; Cycles opens with lovely piano but then the lyrics are weird with a strange countdown and we can’t help but be concerned by the line “Third time I have killed you”; The Best Damn Thing is 90s boyband meets church choir; and #nofilter tries to be sassy but becomes confusing as to whether this was meant to be a criticism of those obsessed with social media or an assurance of someone not needing to be perfect.
Fortunately, the second half of the album is genuinely so good with the use of synths and more of a focus on an alt-rock/alt-pop sound. Badly Mad is a fantastic alternative rock track which shifts into a catchy 80s pop song; All That’s Left is a feel-good pop song complete with an upbeat acoustic guitar and lovely vocal harmonies; and Desk Lamp is a piano focused track that is slightly reminiscent of TOM ODELL that builds in intensity and feelings where you feel every emotion. It’s genuinely the strongest track on the record.
It is hard to know what to make of this album; there are parts to praise but then there are parts that we’re unsure of. Maybe POWERIZED are just ahead of their time, and this will become a cult favourite in years to come, but for now it’s not quite clicking even if we do appreciate the effort.
Rating: 6/10
Better Than You is out now via Yellow Muffin Records.
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