CMC International has a problem – namely, an image
\nproblem. Because they’ve dared to take chances with acts that other
\nlabels wouldn’t want to touch because they’re seen as being
\nunmarketable, they’ve been called a label where old acts go to die.
\n(This is all beside the fact that many of these groups have put out
\nworks that sound like new life has been breathed into them.)<\/p>\n
So, the time has come for CMC to sign their first new artist –
\nand the honor falls to Cutters, an Indiana-based quartet whose
\nmusic is a cross between Collective Soul, Edwin McCain and Live.
\nTheir debut album,
\nSonic Wave Love<\/i>, has many moments that show this is a band
\nto watch in the future, but one does find themselves withing that
\nthe band would try and develop their own unique voice.<\/p>\n
The group – vocalist\/guitarist Tommy Berry, bassist Ron Calder,
\nkeyboardist Bill Maki and drummer Pete Wilhoit – come out of the
\ngate strong with the first single “Satisfied”. The energy level and
\nsongwriting ability of the band is impressive, showing that Cutters
\nare more than just a cookie-cutter band mimicking the flavor of the
\nweek. The opening effects alone are worth the price of admission –
\nSonic<\/i> indeed!<\/p>\n
So where do some of the other artist comparisons I mentioned
\ncome into play? When I hear tracks like “Hero,” the flavor of
\nCollective Soul is heard in both the harmony of the vocals and the
\ntempos of the songs. When tracks like “Watching” come on, the
\nacoustic backbone of the song, combined with Berry’s vocals,
\nconjures up comparisons to Edwin McCain and “I’ll Be” (even though
\nI know that “Watching” is a faster tempoed number). On still others
\nlike “As I Fly,” the Live influence enters in with the jangly
\nguitars and the hints of more offbeat chords being used at
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
All of this is well and good, and other tracks like “Genie” and
\n“Gilgamesh” all serve as further testament to the talent that is in
\nCutters. But where
\nSonic Wave Love<\/i> eventually develops its weakness is that
\nCutters never do really develop their own unique style, even though
\nwhat they’re doing is by no means ripping off the other mentioned
\nartists.<\/p>\n
Developing a band’s own unique style and sound is possibly the
\ntoughest “growing pain” that any act has to go through – and I’ve
\nheard too many over the years, good and bad, who just were never
\nable to clear this hurdle. But this is where Cutters have an
\nadvantage; already an act with some road scars to talk about, I
\ndon’t think it will be long before the band will carve their own
\npath in the pop\/rock world.<\/p>\n
Until that day comes,
\nSonic Wave Love<\/i> is a pleasant enough starting point for the
\nband, and is an album that is worth your attention – as well as a
\nfighting chance to get heard on the radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7256],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-38679","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-cutters","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38679"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38679"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}