ALBUM REVIEW: Social Animals – Social Animals
Releasing a debut album is nerve-wracking for any musician. This is the work that will introduce the wider world to your music. Thankfully for SOCIAL ANIMALS, they’ve teamed up with two top producers in order to make sure their debut is as memorable as ever. The rock band’s vocalist and guitarist, Dedric Clark produced the album, with co-production from Jeremy Hatcher and John Rausch.
Whilst Hatcher and Rausch are best known for producing pop hits for the likes of TAYLOR SWIFT and SHAWN MENDES, they turn their attention towards rock for SOCIAL ANIMALS‘ self-titled debut, helping Clark, lead guitarist Tony Petersen, drummer Boyd Smith and bassist Roger Whittet in their mission to give the rock world a makeover.
Best Years starts off the ten-track album with a funky rock pacing, and Clark‘s voice is well-suited to the genre. The beat is reminiscent of Dare You by MALLORY KNOX, especially during the pre-chorus and chorus. However, the verses are different. The only issue is that it doesn’t really jump out at the audience. It’s a mid-tempo rock song, but there are plenty of those around, and there have been for some time. Of course, as this is SOCIAL ANIMALS‘ debut album, it is easy for this to happen, because getting a debut album right is extremely hard. Thankfully, Adults ups the energy that the opener was lacking, creating a fun indie-rock song. The only thing that’ll leave audiences scratching their head is why it wasn’t the opening song. With its large sing-along chorus, the song is everything a rock track should be.
New single Love Language is a different shift in terms of the tone of the album. It’s dark and moody, and on any other album it would disrupt the overall pacing of the record. However, the fantastic production means that the song works well. It’s also not the only display of SOCIAL ANIMALS testing out new ideas. Whether it is the slow rock of Show Me How or the upbeat pop-rock of Get Over It, the one thing that connects all the experimentation is the sign the the band know what they are doing.
Experimentation is risky for any album, because it risks alienating the musician’s audience. So making your debut album experiment with different genres is one of the riskiest things ever. Some listeners might view it as a stupid idea to do that. However, on Social Animals, the band clearly know what their sound is.
And that is what makes Social Animals an amazing debut. Is it experimental? Yes. However, that is not a bad thing. The band dip their toes into indie-rock, pop-rock, and soft rock. It could’ve been a disaster in the hands of a lesser producer. But thankfully Hatcher and Rausch make it perfectly paced. Of course, they were only the co-producers, so a lot of credit has to go to Clark, who makes this album his own. It is well-paced, and the sound is cohesive. Furthermore, despite a slightly shaky start with the first song, SOCIAL ANIMALS are clearly confident enough in their sound to make a fantastic debut album that is both accessible to new listeners and will please any fans already in the know.
Rating: 8/10
Social Animals is set for release on June 24th via Rise Records.
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