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CD review: Through You
By Cassie Hood
hoodc@mscd.edu

Through You Silhouette and Since (Day of Infamy Music, 2006)

This Christmas the little drummer boy returns as King.

As Through You’s 13-year-old percussionist, King van den Berg is a prized jewel to his band mates. He is their pride and joy, but they put far too much hope in his skill.

On their recent live album Silhouette and Since, Through You screeches and squeals their way through each song. Dropping angst-ridden, sappy, forlorn lyrics and unoriginal guitar riffs, the band has nothing more to offer than their bright-eyed, long-haired little anomaly of a drummer.

The only decent track on the CD is “King Drum Solo,” in which the blooming young lad pounds and thrashes his kit. With his double kick-pedal, three cymbals and various other drums, he spends nearly two minutes displaying his grandiose talent. Playing at tempos that outperform those of many mainstream drummers, King shows how he carries the other band members with his talent alone.

The remainder of the album features shrill, deafening, poor-excuse-for-music noise. “Bruised and Bloody” sounds like a pre-pubescent attempt at hardcore, venturing from grating screams to a bland crack at melody, both efforts futile and pointless. With fast, chaotic guitars and bass mixed with frantic drums, the song comes off as a long jumbled mess.

On the more harmonious side, “Saltwater Apologies” at least fits together. The mellow drumming, funky guitars and almost-pleasing vocals come together in a way that makes sense. If any of the tracks on the album are radio-worthy, this is it.

“Blanket of Nerves” offers a creative twist on displaying inner torment and love, with Kirkland skipping from thought to thought so quickly the song is a big mishmash of sentences. He jumps from “my fingertips are your Kleenex” directly to “grant me passage/ to caress silk curves.” It’s a sweet sentiment, but it falls short of being meaningful.

Throughout Silhouette and Since, it’s apparent that Through You’s main downfall is their lack of talent. Besides the drummer, they have no assets to offer. The singer often sounds like a cat being pureed in a blender; he even tries his hand at rapping but fails miserably. The guitars are decent but not impressive. Perhaps the band’s immaturity leads to their inability to create meaningful music. Even their website at http://throughyou.com shows signs of pre-pubescent minds, being an interactive game complete with missing stairs and hidden angels. Like the album, it’s a tremendous waste of time.