Review: Adventures - Supersonic Home
By Megan Fair, Copy Chief
[Run For Cover; 2015]
Rating: 7/10
Key Tracks: “Heavenly,” “Your Sweetness”
Five Pittsburghers with incredibly diverse musical roots formed the indie rock-meets-pop-meets-emo outfit Adventures and began releasing tunes in 2012. Their first releases were emotionally raw with heart wrenching tracks such as “I Feel So Sure” from 2012’s self-titled EP on No Sleep. Two splits and two EPs later, Adventures have finally put out a full-length. It’s cleaner, catchier and contains some of the most infectious melodies of recent indie rock.
Supersonic Home provides a subtle and simple style tinged with nostalgia. Many music critics have been saying the tone of this record harkens back to the ’90s, which is true to an extent, but a band evoked upon first listen to Supersonic Home is Dashboard Confessional. This is a huge compliment in my book, as Dashboard is admirable for its undeniably memorable hooks and endless singalong potential. Adventures capture those strengths, which are made even more interesting by the dual vocals and keyboard work.
In a video interview with Run For Cover, vocalist Reba Meyers said she often would start screaming on older releases because it was challenging to sing clean. Supersonic Home absolutely destroys that notion, as both Meyers and Kimi Hanauer display intriguing and marvelous vocal work, especially in moments of sweet harmony. Although it may not be vocally perfect in a technical sense, the beautiful honesty of the tone allows for the raw emotion to shine through, especially when the growling, harsh vocals are gently buried in the mix under the clean singing.
Harmony is essential to the success of this release, as each song has a moment in which the two vocalists join together to create a moment of divine symbiosis. Depending on the way the harmony is constructed, it can yank on the listener’s heartstrings or lift them up in a weird joyful way.
This album has moments of sheer magic. For example, “Your Sweetness” has a building bridge in the middle in which Meyers sings the lyrics of the chorus over and over until she screams out, “The way things start always feel so,” trailing back into the actual chorus. The emotive moment audibly personifies the throat-closing moment when you start to choke back tears. Kicks ya right in the feels.
“Heavenly” is an incredible track, and it’s the best on the record. The music video features a sad claymation figure who curls up in a home that floods with water, presumably ending the little figure’s world. The song contains that same amount of desperation, as it features enormous choruses wedged between riffy verses with tight, subtly complex drum work. All of this plays off each other until the final sprint, a building and growing final chorus that leaves listeners high and dry.
Every time Meyers belts the main hook, “It’s a chore for me to ground for you / He’s a swarm / He’s a swarm / I am unforgiving,” I do too. It’s that infectious.
Not every single number on Supersonic Home measures up to the standards of “Heavenly.” For example, one of the weaker tunes, “Longhair,” is saccharine in tone, but sweetness can’t save this song from being bland and way too safe. To be frank, Adventures are not reinventing the emo-tinged indie rock wheel on Supersonic Home in any way .
On the other hand, this effort is absolutely worth the listen. While it may not be incredibly inventive and certainly plays it pretty safe, the album’s moments of greatness outweigh what shortcomings it does have.
