Warm Soda

Symbolic Dream (2015)

Keenan

The time of year you hear an album has an almost imbalanced effect on it's perceived quality. Get 30 seconds into any Warm Soda album and it becomes obvious that these songs were written exclusively for summertime. Symbolic Dream, the band’s third album, goes hand in hand with melting ice cream cones, short shorts and sweat-drenched socks.

The album’s opening track, “I Wanna Know Her,” brings to mind many power pop greats, including The Buzzcocks, The Undertones and The Exploding Hearts. Over the course of this track’s short running time, something else becomes glaringly apparent: Warm Soda has the ear worm hooks and guitar chops to swim in the same pool with those aforementioned bands. Album highlights like “Cryin for Love” and “Just Like Me Before” make you long to be driving around town with the windows rolled all the way down.

The album has a relatively short run time, and smartly so, because this band basically repeats the same tried and true formula over the course of 12 songs. Start with a catchy hook, throw in a minor key change, maybe finish it off with a squiggly guitar solo and you’ve got a Warm Soda song. The only outlier is album closer “Lemonade Lullaby,” which has a hazy, 1950s high school dance vibe to it. It’s a welcome change of pace, but it is the album’s only real misstep.

Warm Soda's name is both apt and unfairly descriptive. Yes, the music sounds warm and it has all the sugary, bubbly energy found only in the best soft drinks. Yet, as the album goes on, the lack of variation makes the formula seem flat over time. This album is a fun ride, but after repeated listens it can lose its essential carbonation.