Speaker Speaker has admirable attempts at variation and meaningful lyrics. They fall short of creating a memorable, distinctive sound.

The title track has a drawn-out opening fusion of percussion and guitar. Vocalist Colin McBride has a clear voice, but he moves through the lyrics so fast, he seems to lose the meaning. It’s as if he were singing from his head and not his gut. Danny Oleson at bass, and drummer Jasen Samford seem to be just a bit off in their delivery. The mixing in this record could have been tighter.

Of the five tracks on this record, “Do You Still Hate Me?” seems to stand out the most. No doubt this band has inklings of catchy songwriting, I’d like to hear more and predict that they have a strong following of younger listeners. Tour the country and see what musical inspirations arrive—more mature lyrics and arrangements please.

For more info and to hear some tunes, visit myspace.com/speakerspeaker