Torch Review

Your inside guide to what’s good and what’s just awful

We Came As Romans:
“Understanding What We’ve Grown to Be”

We Came As Romans tote a catchy rhythm and enough double-kick action to throw a few people off of their seats. Unfortunately that’s all the further their new album “Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be” does. I found it hard to justify this mediocre band to their “sounds like” references of Pop Evil and Hollywood Undead.  The album woke me up at first, and I had hope that it might slowly grow as the album progressed, but every song sounded like the last one. I hoped that maybe the musicality would save it, but sadly it isn’t all that intricate, and all the songs follow the same pattern. Even the lyrics are remarkably all the same theme. If you’re between the ages of 13 and 17 you’ll love this album. If you have a more mature palette, don’t bother with it.

Asa:

“Beautiful Imperfection”

Nigerian singer Asa (pronounced Asha) brings a fresh new feeling to the Pop genre with her album releasing called “Beautiful Imperfection.” Her talent shows through in her music by presenting real life problems and political issues in an ironically upbeat way. Her personal story adds to her performance, as her voice is neither true pop or true soul, it’s somewhere in between. Being exposed to the political turmoil that has plagued Nigeria and all the rest of Africa has given her lyrics a depth that is seldom seen in the pop genre. Asa is extremely talented, relying not only on her voice but on her musical skill as an accomplished guitarist. Asa will appeal to anyone who likes the pop, soul or reggae genres. She truly has her own sound, and cannot be compared to anyone else.