The Higher – It’s Only Natural

Artist: The Higher
Album: It’s Only Natural
Genre: Pop Rock
Label: Epitaph Records

The Higher caught my attention before I had even heard their music or performance when I went to see The Audition in Pontiac, MI. First of all the iLounge (basement of Clutch Cargos) has HORRIBLE sound, and the young guy who was running the sound there needs to get a new job. Before they went on they couldn’t get the drum monitors to work, and I heard the drummer say “whatever, just forget it.” Ask any musician it’s just as important to hear yourself on stage as it is to have a PA. I thought the drummer was talented, and sounded good event though he was without monitors. I had a fun time and some extra cash, so I bought their CD.

Now let me give you my background before I start; I rarely enjoy pop rock bands unless I see them live, but I thought the album would be great for somebody who enjoys this genre. I hate buying an album that has only 1 or 2 good songs, but that isn’t the case with The Higher’s new CD “It’s Only Natural”. The songs have catchy lyrics and choruses that will be stuck in your head for awhile. This is definitely speaks from the pop side of their music, but it isn’t so bad because it still has a rock vibe to it. If I was in The Higher, I would have dropped the vocals and electronic beats back a tad, brought the guitar and drums higher n the mix, and cut out a couple of the “Oh Baby, Baby” lyrics.

It’s not easy to write hits that appeal to a large group of people, but I think they have a good line-up of them on this album. If The Higher keeps up albums like this one, I think I will end up hearing them on the top 40 radio stations, and have some serious success. The Higher definitely stand out over the vast majority of the other bands in their genre, because they know how to write a song that catches your ears, and stays in your head.

I have to admit, after I heard “Try Again”, “Undertaker”, and “Play with Fire”, I had to hear them again. The lyrics in Try Again are crafty, and Seth’s singing style will have you catching yourself singing along soon after you hear it a couple times. Play with Fire has a danceable beat, and I laughed because I can relate to his reference of playing with fire as getting close to a possibly dangerous girl. The band essentially is a mix of rock music in the shadow of an electronic track, and pop lyrics and vocals. They do a real good job of blending all of them together in their songs.

I don’t think I’ll buy any other music from The Higher, but I’m sure they will sell plenty to make up for me. Great pop-rock album, not usually my thing, but I wouldn’t mind hearing music from them again. This band is a little too pop for my liking, but like I said if you enjoy pop rock, I would highly recommend this album to you. I give this band kudos for the album they created, because like I said, it’s hard to write hit songs, and I wanted to give them a fair review even though it’s not too close to my liking.

6.5/10

Written by Alex Gohl

Twitter – utgALEX

James Shotwell
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