EP REVIEW: What Might Have Been – Talia
From Los Angeles we are introduced to alternative-rock outfit TALIA and their latest EP What Might Have Been. The band themselves describe their sounds as a bit of a throwback to 90s rock with a fusion of grunge and punk, creating high energy performances. It all sounds promising right? Sadly this EP falls flat and leaves us feeling disappointed and uninspired for the most part.
As the record opens with The Bite, we are at first led to believe that this will be a solid rock track but after a while it begins to sound a bit generic, like any other rock song that follows the typical tropes but doesn’t offer anything new and refreshing. Furthermore, you can tell that the band are trying to create a hype and emulate high energy but it feels forced, along with a weird production. One can enjoy an EP that’s designed to feel rough, unpolished, but there’s a difference between making it sound raw and real, and making something that just sounds blurred and strange.
Things do look up with I Get Bored – a track that takes influence from AMERICAN HI-FI and has an interesting dark vibe to it that just sounds so cool. But then we return to being disappointed with And I Will, which is a shame as the track’s intriguing heavy guitars create a pretty impressive collaboration between metal and garage rock, but the vocals just ruin anything that they try to do. It’s also a problem in White City; you can tell that the vocalist wishes to come across as tough and edgy but it all feels forced, like he’s trying to be something he’s not, and it ends up frustrating us more than anything.
Luckily for Talia, the final three tracks are a small saving grace for the EP. Bloodshed (You’re An Animal) homes in more on the bass with a more central focus on grunge. With the vocals now dropping the hard and edgy act, everything sounds well put together and helps to create a dirty vibe – in a good way. Suck is also an enjoyable, garage track with toe-tapping beats, although it does end abruptly. Final track Another War Song takes on an entirely different style with a more polished production. It feels a lot more radio friendly but it remains an enjoyable song with great guitar riffs that take heavy influence from FOO FIGHTERS. It sounds great, but it just feels incredibly out of place on this EP
It’s a shame; this record had so much potential but it ends up being disappointing. You can tell that TALIA have a love for the genre they’re in but with the weird production and forced “tough guy” act in the vocals it’s hard to enjoy this. Granted, things pick up in the second half of the EP, but it’s not enough to rescue it.
Rating: 5/10
What Might Have Been is set for release on February 24th via Manic Kat Records.
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