video review: 'colourful cows' by syndrome

So yeah, my first review where the band themselves contacted me to review them... and it's one of my most negative reviews I've done on Youtube. I kind of feel like shit posting this review, but the band did ask for this. And with that in mind, I tried to help the best I could.

Next up is Arctic Monkeys as the first of the 'second wave' of September. Man, that review's going to get me some stimulating 'feedback'...

album review: 'colourful cows' by syndrome

As I've mentioned a few times before, I have taken requests to review albums in the past, mostly during times when there's nothing really coming out and I need to review/rant about something. This month, however, I wasn't planning on taking any requests for reviews, mostly because September is an overloaded month (and from the look of my schedule, October looks just as bad if not worse) and I'm going to have a hard time covering everything I want to cover without keeling over from exhaustion.

I'm making an exception here - because for the first time in my 'career' as a reviewer, a band has actually approached me directly and asked for me to review their material. 

And you know, at first I was really flattered. It's one of those moments which is kind of nice, when you read that they approached you because they value your critique and analysis (or at least they said they did). But I got a sick, sinking feeling in my gut, because talking about a pop star who I will likely never meet is a lot different than talking about an unsigned indie act trying to get their first break. And as fun as it can be to rip some shallow, studio-produced crap to shreds, it's a lot harder when you know this work might be a labour of love that they put a lot of effort into, something that they want to share with the world.

Of course, I'm also keenly aware that I might just be getting used to build free buzz for the band or at least get somebody talking about these guys. And so before I accepted the task of this review, I made it very clear to the band that I wasn't about to pull punches here. I'm not going to coddle them or act as free positive press - I'm a critic, and I'm not going to have my integrity compromised, no matter how independent the source. But at the same time, I do want to see people with passion for their art succeed, so this review is going to be structured a little differently, instead framed as a series of questions this band will inevitably face from labels as they try to get their band signed. These are the questions for which they're going to need answers if they want to have any hope of success.

So, with all of that in mind, let's talk about the band Syndrome, and their EP, 'Colourful Cows'.