CD Review: Souvenirs by In Repair

CD Review: Souvenirs by In Repair

CD available and Digital Download on Band Camp: http://inrepair.bandcamp.com/

Review by Joseph Timmons – Xombiewoof Magazine

If you could picture a Smokey and dim-lit coffee house or a truck stop on the edge of a highway leading to nowhere, filled with the nation’s lost souls looking for a warm corner to spend eternity, where the spirits of Jack Kerouac and Joey Ramone share a pot of java and feverishly work out lyrics to the anthems of their troubles, you may begin to see the musical picture show that is Souvenirs by In Repair.

I would say that if this album is just a taste of what this band has to offer, then one should strap in and get ready for a great trip, just the right amount of hard edge lyrics blended with melodic and strong musical creativity, well balanced and full of emotion. This group has serious potential as a voice of the generation of youth looking for meaning both inside and out. From listening to the music, I feel the group has a unity that dwells in stereo-phonic bliss and edgy philosophy of a generation that is skeptical of the social norms.

The album Souvenirs by In Repair is 11 contemplative and soul searching jaunts through the mind, no anger, no political angst – just, as it would appear to me, answers seeking questions, the why not’s and what for’s that plague us on the day to day and life to life moments, all neatly crumpled up and tossed out the window of the existential VW Bus traveling down highway 66.

Among the tracks in this album is a little ditty called Square Peg, Round Soul, a hard and edgy quick-beat that gets you thinking about your own times of doubt and “what the hell am I doing?”- Other titles, such as Car Crashes and Cancer, Consent to Treatment, A Girl Named Someday and Better Than Me– all introspective reflections that can grab the listener and get a level of understanding that one would get from listening to more seasoned artists, this is Dylan in Anger Management.

In Repair has been said to be “punk-ish”, punk has become marginalized and generic, seems that every band that can play at 11 and bounces off their guitars like ditch diggers call themselves hard edge or punk, In Repair is not Punk, Not Folk or Trendy- they are real people in a real world, reaching out to their fellow travelers, giving a helping and understanding hand, brushing off the dust of yesterday’s troubles and offering to buy you a burger, they are sustainable art.

As you can tell, I am Impressed!

I came by Souvenirs by In Repair, via the new online therapy service known as Facebook, through a friend of a friend and got this from one of the band members, I did not have the chance to find this unsigned gem on my own, so now- I need to get to a show and see them live. Get this album and give it a spin, you will love it.

Check Them Out on Facebook, Get in the Bus! – https://www.facebook.com/inrepair