Music Review // Sonic Fuel "Self-Titled"

https://open.spotify.com/album/0O1V7nFt3sWGegeCWcRch8?si=H7pSeS5SS5ymlma2x0dBMg&dl_branch=1&nd=1

While the best way to describe the sounds of Sonic Fuel might be as melodic rock, there are also a number of underlying factors which create a more extensive sound derived from those roots.   There is this feeling of a specific guitar chord that sounds almost metal and even though it cannot be heard in every song I still feel like it is there, the common thread which brings all of these songs together.

One of the first artists that I hear within these songs is Counting Crows, though I feel like that sound exists more in the vocals than anywhere else.   "I Believe" has a sound similar to that of The Wallflowers, though the vocals still remind me of Counting Crows.   Once we reach "The Brink", I hear heavy guitars and am reminded of the band Dishwalla, who I feel put out a lot of great songs and are only known for one- but I also feel like there aren't enough bands that I compare with Dishwalla in 2021 so I especially enjoy that about Sonic Fuel.

In true rock n roll fashion the songs are all pretty much about what the title suggests and the title seems to always give that away.  "It's Life" is a prime example of this, as there are situations described in the song- the ups and downs- and it's just kind of chalked up to being life.   Not just musically, but also lyrically this album has the way about it which it ends not with a whimper but with a bang on the song "Scream", which has killer guitar solos and reminds me a bit of Seether.

Sonic Fuel is a lot of what I love about rock music.  They keep it simple, straight and to the point, but that doesn't mean that the music is basic.  Most of what I hear in here are sounds from between 1990 and the year 2000, but then some of them are also from those bands who didn't get enough love back then and should be appreciated now.   Sonic Fuel is that band from 1997 that might have one song on the radio but creates an album which is entirely exceptional.  Being that we are in the year 2021, this does not need to go overlooked.