Social Queues – Demo EP Review
LISTEN HERE:
https://soundcloud.com/peter-dare-341056952/sets/social-queues-ep
I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to finally be writing this review! Social Queues is a two-piece band, with my boyfriend Peter playing drums and producing, and our good friend Keegan providing the vocals, guitar, and piano. The guys have been performing their original songs at local coffee shops and venues since the spring of 2018, and their songwriting has only gotten better and better. They recently finished recording these four demos, and while they are not completely polished, finished tracks, they still capture the interesting lyrical and musical stylings of the Social Queues.
Raven kicks us off with an upbeat, acoustic tune, with catchy melodies, and plenty of “oh's” to sing along to that are sure to get stuck in your head. The song almost sounds like it came out of a storybook, with references to hidden treasures, monsters, and not a black bird as you may think, but a girl with “golden eyes and raven hair”. Elements of this song inspired the logo graphic:
This Song Is Not Named Tokyo is next, and if you listened to Raven thinking that Social Queues was just like any other indie rock band, this track will prove you very wrong! A haunting piano/synth line and hip hop drum samples accompany this song, as well as the entire second section of the song having Keegan jump up to falsetto vocals. Just when you think it's over, they're not done yet- it ends with a rapid-fire rap verse, Peter's one vocal feature. The different effects and production on the instruments make this demo an intriguing listen, but it's just as good when they perform it in a coffee shop setting, with only a piano and minimal percussion.
Third brings us into some good old rock-and-roll territory, with a bouncing electric guitar riff and BIG choruses. It's a lighthearted-sounding look at unrequited love, realizing that sometimes you've got to let people go in order to love them best. The song opens up at the end to a resounding finish, and it's an overall fun song to listen to.
Strand brings the EP to a close in a beautifully grand way. Keegan wrote the lyrics based on the Chronicles of Narnia book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It compares the secure feeling of love and peace to strands of music, strands of shoreline, and strands of golden light. It's a simple, theatrical piano ballad, recorded all in one take, and the vocals really shine here. A powerful song bringing me to tears is a normal occurrence for me, but this is a really special one.
You can follow the guys on social media here:
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