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Written by Kate Nelson Wednesday, 06 May 2009 14:26

Their sound is so cohesive, you would think they've been making music together since birth.

A few months ago I found myself at a truck stop Wendy's with my parents, coming home from a family wedding trip to Michigan. Waiting in line to order my favorite, spicy chicken sandwich, I scanned the dining room. My eyes crossed over tables of typical rural characters, stopping at the table of a stylishly dressed group of four and one authoritative looking gentleman. They're obviously a band, I tell my mom. After finishing my lunch, I approached the authoritative gentleman—he turned out to be their tour manager—and ask what band they are in. He told me, "Audrye Sessions." I explained that I write reviews for a website and asked who their label was so I could try and get my hands on a copy of their unreleased EP. Instead, he handed me a copy of the disc. Upon returning to the car, my parents and I popped it into the CD player; our reactions went a little something like this...

Amazing. Ryan Karazija's voice sounds like a younger, American version of Thom Yorke. Their sound is so cohesive, you would think they've been making music together since birth. Audrye Sessions stands where not many other bands do, where "marketable" meets "something worth listening to." It is the kind of music that I can only assume is even better live. The kind of music that takes you in, wraps you up, and makes you feel something powerful.

Take these lines from the second track: "Tonight it's all ending/ and I will be watching/ everyone sleeps like a child." "Awake" is musically gorgeous. Karazija's voice is perfectly on point, mixing so fluidly with the guitars that you submit yourself to the beauty of the instrumental parts of this song. However upon listening closely to the lyrics, there is a certain eerie-ness that is not only constructed, but vocally executed so exquisitely that it may bring you to tears.

My other favorite track on this EP is the first one, "Turn Me Off"; it reminds me a little bit of Keane without the piano. The guitars start the song off until the percussions enter and, within 15 seconds, you're tapping your foot along to the beat. Being someone who hates when the crowd claps at shows, I may even feel inclined to clap along with this song live. It's catchy in a way that makes you want to put the track on repeat and never take it off.

I would recommend Audrye Sessions for just about anyone who appreciates good music. Even my mom likes this one. A | Kate Nelson

RIYL: Thom Yorke's voice, Keane, (maybe) Coldplay