Every once in a while I run into a band that has soundtrack quality. What the hell is soundtrack quality you may be asking, I’ll tell you. It’s the kind of music that you listen to and can picture fitting in seamlessly as part of the sound of a movie and or tv show. Every song on “These Things” has that potential. I could see it being a regular part of most soundtracks of shows on the CW. It would have also been perfect for one season, gem, dramas like My So Called Life and Life as We Know It, had they been conceived today. It’s because it has a full range of sound on a single album. You want mellow rock beats? Check. You want pure unadulterated electrified rock? Check? Are you in desperate need of a ballad type song? Check. They have their bases covered.

Instrumentation wise, they utilize a piano/keyboard in the correct fashion for this medium. It doesn’t overpower everything. The keys aren’t being the attention whores in the band like they seem to be in a lot of today’s music. Thank god, I did not need to listen to another Fray wannabe band(I am talking to you Augustana). As far as guitars go, I was strangely attracted to the very understated presence of the bass. It made me comfortable for some reason. Soothing would probably be the right word to describe it.

Lead singer, Derek Ryan, has a set of pipes on him. I mean, his voice may not move you to tears just by listening to it alone but he wins the award of having superb range. He can work all registers of his voice. Props to the man who can use his falsetto in a non obnoxious, James Blunt manner.  He does this particularly well in “Figure It Out” and “A Theater of My Own”.

“These Things” is a necessary “thing” you need to add to your library. As Martha Stewart so quaintly puts it-“It’s a good thing”.

Hot Tracks:

Hold Tight

Figure It Out

A Theater Of My Own

4.5/5 stars