Say Anything

Somewhere in the interesting style of this new group a few strands of English pop are combined with the self-deprecating humor of young people who seem to be able to handle general insanity.  For Say Anything, the message is delivered with a somewhat disarming freshness.

It shouldn’t surprise Say Anything fans that the group will be touring with hellogoodbye.  After all, that band’s music is much influenced by English pop and some of the rainbow, feel-good stuff from the 60s.  But a serious listener will find significant differences.  After all, hellogoodbye puts the word "love" in the titles of its love songs and cites "trees and stuff" as major influences.

Say Anything, on the other hand, gets much of its direction from singer Max Bemis, who writes that he gave a lot of thought to the "sick ambition to affect some sort of change in society" through his art.  That type of thinking, and musical direction, goes well beyond love songs or "trees and stuff."

Bemis and drummer Coby Linder might be the two to blame for the existence of Say Anything, since the two started out doing self-recorded music and hung on through several band-member changes to get to the current lineup. Alex Kent handles the bass, while Jake Turner and Jeff Turner contribute both guitar work and vocals. Parker Case (keyboards, guitar, vocals) rounds out the group’s lineup.

Music purists will be pleased to know that the band members originally chose to be "totally underground" rather than sign with a big-name label.  That has changed in recent times.  What effect that will have on the group is still a mystery.

Tags: music, indie, say anything, independent music, indie music