High Lo Fi - Three Sided Single (Cover Artwork)
Staff Pick

High Lo Fi

Three Sided Single (2001)

Does Everyone Stare?


Ever wonder what popcore is? Put this in and hit play. I love CDs like this. The music is instantly accessible and "radio friendly," while still keeping that "punk rock" edge. The words don't require a rocket scientist to comprehend, but they're still more than apt at expressing the singer's emotions. And best of all, the CD is only 10 minutes long, which means no filler! Yay! Now lets look at the songs:

One Times One: Dynamite choice of an opener. 3 straight minutes of uptempo, jangly rock. Apparently this song has already been licensed for play on some MTV show, and I'm not surprised. The "I can play so what's your game/Cut so clean but also frayed/Close to me, so far away/One times one is still the same" chorus will be stuck in your head at all hours of the day.
Adrenal Eyes: Cute play on words. This one is a bit more heavy than it's predecessor, but it still sticks to the verse/chorus/verse pattern. It reminds me a lot of ALL, both vocally and musically. Ironic, since I don't like ALL very much but I really like this. Go figure. The only fault in the song is the wanky guitar solo in the middle, it doesn't fit at all and throws off the momentum of the track.
Let Go!: You know when they use an exclamation point, they are serious. The EP closes with a very guitar driven rock song, at least until the chorus hits. At that point, everything in the band just seems to mesh, creating one hell of a catchy, singalong chorus with harmony in all the right places.

So nothing here is exactly groundbreaking, but it's all very enjoyable. The music is very reminiscent of Sugar or ALL, or maybe a dumbed down Foo Fighters. This Toronto band has already gone into transition in their short career, though, changing their name to Taylored. It hasn't stopped them from being featured in Teen People this summer as one of the "10 Bands to Watch" in the upcoming year, or being commissioned to write the theme for an upcoming video game. The title of this EP is damn right: this really is a three-sided single. These are all more than adequate A sides to be shooting up the college radio charts. I'm tipping you off to them now, so you can thank me later when they get huge and you already were in on it.

MP3
One Times One