Family Average: 3/7

Remember everyone: Stranger danger. That is what they teach us in school right? Well yeah obviously. There is that that video where the poor alien kid kept getting roughed up by strangers (look below for more information). Today however we ask you to do the opposite. We want you to take a long listen to this tune by LOUD HOUND. It is all about strangers. Maybe the information in this wonderful indie rock tune will teach us how to better protect ourselves from the unknown menace. There is only one way to find out. Listen to the song and read our reviews below!

Listen along on Spotify and read on to find out:

If only the entire track of “Youthful Stranger” by Loud Hound kept the sound and vibe of the intro to the song, I think it would have been a little more appealing. The track starts with that raw garage/live band sound, that is not easy to create. They do a good job of this, however, when the vocals kick in all of a sudden there is just too much going on. The composition of the song is solid as are the lyrics, it is just hard to focus on them with all the added layers of I guess dubbing and echos.  I would like to hear them do this song without all of the extras. A stripped down or even acoustic version of this song would allow you to really appreciate what they are trying to accomplish. I give this

3/7

Youthful Stranger by: loud Hound. This song get your attention from the first few notes, it's sort of reminded me of the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour type music. I really like the first few moments of this track the vocals and the harmonies were great and there was a cool bass riff  running in the beginning , but then it kind of droned on and got a little monotonous. I listen to this track a second time and it had a real vintage 60’s sound which I really like. It's melodic pleasant and interesting but there weren’t any real high points, it was almost a little too predictable for me.

I give it a groovy 4/7

LOUD HOUND is a well-groomed puppy.

We rocking and rolling here folks. Classic surf rock drum beat accompanied with a tambourine. Jacked up reverb guitar, and a relaxed monotone vocal style. All the Classic ingredients are here, and they are used well. The structure of the song moves along in a familiar pattern sticking to a conventional style.

It's the song for the Youthful Stranger. The guy who gets ID’d at the bar awkwardly, and kinda just sits there occasionally looking at their phone. At least that is what I got out of it. Maybe they are waiting for a friend. Maybe they just got the bar and realized that nobody could hang out but it's too late and they already got to the bar. Might as well get a drink then right?   

There is a lovely little bass level established here. Would be great to see the artist run with it. Go crazy. experiment with new sounds on an EP. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to discern it from the countless good garage band releases.

3/7

Behold: the ubiquitous Loud Hound.

Nothing really stood out for me on this one. I do love that jangly guitar, and that droning, echoed style vocal is always cool, but I've heard it before. He's clearly mixing elements of garage, surf, and psych, and does a nice job of making the lo-fi, high energy surf rock vibe a bit moodier. I appreciate he's striving to take a dive into some more emotional territory lyrically, but I struggled to glean any of it as the track just didn't hold my attention. That being said, it fits right in with the alternative/indie fodder that I will always listen to and enjoy. I would just like to see this guy jump headfirst into it and push the genre(s) way further.

 3/7