So They Say - Antidote For Irony / 2006 Fearless / 11 Tracks / http://www.sotheysaymusic.com / http://www.fearlessrecords.com / Reviewed 12 March 2006

So They Say has been on tour with Amber Pacific, and it seems as if the vocal stylings of Amber Pacific have been recreated with some success during “Antidote For Irony”. The slightly-nasal, melodramatic (in a good way) vocals take center stage during “In Loving Memory Of…”, and only have competition with the strings that pop up during the track. Each of the cuts from “Antidote For Irony” is primped and primed for Steven’s Untitled Rock Show and others of that ilk; however, this does not mean that the band can rest on their laurels.

Each of the tracks on “Antidote For Irony” is wide-open with the differing sound that the band elicits from their instruments. While there is no lack of emotive rock to be found on “Antidote For Irony”, So They Say struggle at points during the disc in creating music that keep individuals interested throughout. Some of the tracks just do not contribute anything to the emo corpus; songs like “Anxiety Is Setting In” may sound good but it is done in the same way as perhaps one hundred other tracks. “Good-bye” shows the band as trying to right what went wrong to minor success. So They Say seem to go through the motions without a problem, but everything seems to be done by rote instead of true lover for the music. As has been said, each of the tracks on “Antidote For Irony” would work admirably on radio or a music video station but there just seems to be a disconnect at same point in So They Say’s music that will keep listeners from enjoying the band.

Some of the things that So They Say does in the middle and ending of the disc are nice changes; “You Asked “Where Are We Now?” has a double-bass worthy of a hardcore track. These minor changes in the band’s sound keep interest from flagging and are present in the disc’s strongest tracks. The back and forth of the guitar arrangements during “Over Exposed Photo” is another minor wrenching of the band’s dynamic, and allows individuals to get into the band slowly. The first few tracks on “Antidote For Irony” may start slowly, but the band does get into a groove for the second half of the disc that deems them. Give the entire disc a spin and do not just listen to the singles that they cut out for common consumption; chances are that individuals will be happy.

Top Tracks: Overexposed, You Asked “Where Are We Now?”

Rating: 5.6/10

[JMcQ]