Swansgate
Becoming Someone
(Swansgate)

Big swirling string strikes begin on “Lost in the Sun,” as we easily float into Michael McKinney’s MOR beat and Stu Draughn’s tight vocal delivery laden, with maybe a little too much, autotune. But it’s a nice entre to Swansgate’s Becoming Someone. The slightly scary guitar and then arpeggiating keys and chunky drum programming of the second song, “Island of Lies,” creates a kinetic cool rhythmic bed, a tune I feel a better start to this 12-song collection.

There is a harp-sounding key backing lead into a heavy beat and backing warbly vocals on another of the highlights here, the sexy sly “While the Nigh.” This is a good one for Draughn’s talk-rap vocal, and although not a style of song I dig, this one is great and I think it showcases the band’s full use of machines mixed with real instruments.

The plodding keys and, again, Michael McKinny’s wonderfully odd drumming on “Notice Me” make this slight desperate little tune kind of sweet.

The jazzy piano with a sly bass behind it and papery fast drumming ends this album. Again, this song is a little too heavy on autotune, but once we get McKinney managing his tight little guitar riffing, we are off to the races.

Although for me Swansgate’s Becoming Someone has a lot of same-sounding soundscapes making it up, the album is still a fun light, bouncy brew. The band; Draughn, Michael McKinney guitarist and keyboardist, Gabe McKinney on bass, and drummer Mike Kaloudis on the tunes where Michael McKinney isn’t playing drums, do have a cool style of putting these concoctions together.