Upon hearing that Speak was recently named Austin’s “Best New Band” by the Austin Chronicle, this reviewer got mighty excited. Being known as a city that encourages artistic growth through its numerous live music venues, you’d have to imagine that Speak’s debut EP, <i>Hear, Here</i> would engage upon the first listen. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Speak’s plastic, made for TV brand of synth-rock (Complete with heavy helpings of Autotune) seems better suited for the counterfeited city of Los Angeles.
While the hooks are plentiful on this summery release, including on the boisterous “Louder,” there’s very little on the EP that could inspire, or even slightly alter the already mind-numbing scene which they’re destined to become a part of. Yes, <i>Hear, Here</i> lasts around 15 minutes, which means you can just grin and bear it. But those 15 minutes are rather accurate; you’d have to assume that their 15 minutes of fame will expire, soon enough.
By Joshua Kloke
[Rating: 1/5]
