7.5/10
Oooh baby! This alternative indie-rock album makes the teenage girl in me want to throw my undies out the window as I zoom down the highway with my three girlfriends, Mimi, Kit and Britney Spears. As if Paramore and Kings of Leon got drunk together one night and decided to write an album, Guidestones’s debut EP Cut & Run, released in April of 2016, is a warming package of good vibes and uplifting rhythms suited for the soundtrack of any teenage drama.
Kicking off with “Sugar Coated Love,” my soft spot for pop music was triggered by a thick-sounding drum beat and feel-good guitar riff. I’m a sucker for chick singers, so with Gabrielle La Rue’s solid vocal pipes resonating throughout the EP, I had a pretty raging audio boner going as I listened.
The thing that really disappointed me about the album was the low vocal volume levels. There are two great vocalists on this album: La Rue and Ryan Boudreau. So, the fact that their voices were drowned out by the guitars and drums at times kinda brought my rager to a soft-served level. Pump up the vox! I’m sure there are some pretty meaningful words spoken on the album, but I could not comprehend most of them. This is either the fault of the equalization or else some of us are not articulating, people!
Aside from it being rather difficult to make out and follow along with the lyrical content at times, the rest of the album’s instrumentation has a beautiful tone, with moving rhythms and leads that really complement the sentimental mood of the album. The consistently strong vibes throughout Cut & Run instill both a stimulating sense of drive and comfort. When listening to this album, one might think, “The shitter’s clogged, my Grandpa stinks, and my car’s on fire, but that’s okay.”
Written by Keenan Kerr
*edited by Kate Erickson
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