EP review: SomaHigh – Lo Fat

According to the piece of paper in front of me, SomaHigh have had recent support slots with the execrable Scouting for Girls and Razorlight, among others; I’ll be entirely honest and confess that, as a result, I didn’t have high hopes for the Lo Fat EP. Prejudice is a funny thing, isn’t it?

Well, not really, no. But the prospect of seeing Scouting for Girls almost seems bearable if it included the opportunity to see SomaHigh blow their imbecility-by-numbers off the face of the planet; if they actually sound like this on stage, they’d have shredded the faces of anyone foolish enough to turn up for half-an-hour of insipid pub-pop with Elvis references.

So, ladies and gents, let me coin a new subgenre name: SomaHigh play turbopop. “Lo Fat” sounds like the bombast of early Killers meeting the epic airs of Muse and getting a good kicking while taking a short cut through the local council estate; it’s got big chunky guitars and searing synths; simple riffs and structures underpinned with rattling martial snares… plus a brutal mantra of a vocal hook: “you can’t outsmart me / you’re a moron”. Zing!

Sneering and punchy, “Lo Fat” sees SomaHigh thumbing their nose at consumerist aspirations – which is well-timed, given the current economic climate and the enduring appeal of electro-rock in the alternative charts and club playlists. Original? Nope. Rocket science? Not really. But SomaHigh have got a better claim to the soubriquet “pop punk” than most of the coiffured idiots that parade themselves beneath that banner.

Moving on, “Tell You What” is a little too basic by comparison, powered by a simple plodding rhythm with Fisher Price riffs to match, but with that satisfyingly fat sound providing a surface for SomaHigh‘s trademark curled-lip vocals; a little more detail might not have gone amiss, though.

“End of the Line” is more of the same plus the missing magic, coming on like two fat lines of dirty speed in the toilets at your local alternative club, complete with moody bass squelches and an infuriatingly catchy ascending chorus hook. I’d have put this one at the front of playlist, myself – that wailing vocal part has the power to follow you around for hours, and that’s a sure sign of a good candidate for airplay.

So, to reiterate – SomaHigh cram great hooks and lots of scuzzy energy into brisk three-minute pop packages, and for a band coming out of nowhere that’s a pretty strong start. If they can stick to their guns and refuse to compromise their style, the Lo Fat EP might be the first of many. Good stuff.