Who is SoulSwitch….

Tom  Huestis on vocals, Jimmy Kwong and Nic Allen on guitars, Matt Larson on bass, and Michael Mouris on drums. Together, they make the hard rocking band SoulSwitch.   Based in Orlando, FL in the United States and they have been together since about 2006.

Jimmy Kwong moved that year to Orlando. While he had a bunch of songs already written, the hard part seemed to be finding like-minded musicians that fit the mold of his music.   As with most bands, there is  usually a funny or strange story  about how they met  - SoulSwitch  is no exception.   Has your band ever found its bass player in a Target store? Well, that’s exactly what happened with this band.   “Believe it or not, I found Matt at Target,” laughs Kwong. “Even though he couldn’t find the milk, I thought, ‘What the hell? He’s got long hair. Maybe he’s a musician.’ I found out he played bass and we started jamming together. He introduced me to Nic, and things started moving.” a quote from SoulSwitch’s Facebook page by Jimmy Kwong.   The remainder of the guys joined shortly after that fateful day.

Unlike most bands, SoulSwitch didn’t play a live show for a whole year.   Instead, they focused on their playing and getting used to each other as a band.   This has paid off for them; you can hear all their hard work come together on this EP.   Check out the complete track listing and my thoughts on some of the songs from this release.

On to the tracks…

1. CHANGE

2. THE FORGOTTEN

3. TRANSMISSION’S LOST

4. SAVING ME

5. FAR AWAY

6. THE ONE THING

For this EP SoulSwitch brought in producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette who has worked with bands such as CHEVELLE, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and STATIC-X just to name a few.   I feel this was an excellent choice by the band.   So often the producers/engineers are the ones that  influence  a band’s sound throughout the record.   Many bands have been made or broken with poor choices in this often overlooked, but very important position. The combination of Baskette as producer and the band playing together for such a long time before doing a show has paid off!

CHANGE is the first track on this release.   Hard hitting guitars joined by thunderous drums really kicks this thing off right. Great lyrics about what one would do for that one particular person –  no matter the cost you will CHANGE.   We have all been there at one point in time; willing to do whatever it takes for only one person.   I enjoyed the match of the lyrics and music – strong and extremely powerful in their execution.   You can listen to this song for free as it is our EMURG PICK for this release.

TRANSMISSION’S LOST is a rock and roll amusement ride!   Building with anticipation from the beginning and then exploding into a hard rocking, twisting and turning musical ride.   In the middle are great fret blistering leads from Nic Allen.   Kwong reveals, “It’s about struggling with addiction, and how that struggle can render someone completely numb. They lose touch and all ability to connect as a result.”

It was a tough call between these two songs as to which one should be the EMURG pick. Both really showcased this band’s strengths of mixing hard-hitting music and lyrics.

FAR AWAY slows us down a little bit, but this is where all the time spent together really pays off.   The power you feel in this slower song really adds to the lyrics.   It is a combination that strikes at the heart of us all, and is   musical and lyrical perfection in my mind.   This is maybe the best track on the EP.

In Conclusion…

This was a great EP from SoulSwitch showcasing their skills.   I really enjoyed it.   I look forward to their first full length release which we hope will not be to far away.   If you are in Florida, make sure you see them live.   I have been told on good authority that they blow the roof off!    Go check out SOULSWITCH.

Thanks for taking the time to read this review and your comments are ALWAYS welcome.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Who am I??? I am a short, bald and slightly over weight one-eyed rock and roll FAN! I do NOT have any professional writing skills from any schools or major publications. I am SIMPLY a music fan, nothing more and nothing less...I just love to RnFnR as SLASH would say!