Album Review: Taking Meds - 'Demo'

When successful bands branch off from their regular repertoire to try their luck at a side project, it’s almost always comes with unadulterated anticipation and a willful curiosity clinging to it from the word go. Late last year, members of Such Gold teamed up with friends to dabble in the realms of the somewhat experimental. What they came up with was Taking Meds and this year, their first release ‘Demo’ – a neat three song offering that exceeds already high expectations, while also redirecting them to a strangely endearing indie punk nuance that wanders away from Such Gold’s habitual punk credibility and takes the path less travelled.

All assumptions that Taking Meds will just be another pop punk band are quickly eliminated with the first song ‘Summer of Down’. While retaining an organic punk quality to its sound, ‘Summer of Down’ has a distinctive buoyant, erratic feel that is enhanced by the vocalist’s frequent switching from a gritty punk edge to a boyish, indie sincerity.

As far as the production on the demo goes, the vocals are almost, but not quite lost in the blending of erratic instrumental mixes in ‘Jim Jones’ and fragments of eclectic instrumentation is added to ‘The Bisel Blues’ to enhance the band’s versatility. Taking this flexibility to the next level, ‘The Bisel Blues’ possesses a subtle hardcore sensibility that reminds this reviewer vaguely of the work of At The Drive In.

It’s not everyday that a revered pop punk band like Such Gold ventures into a side project as refreshing and innovative as Taking Meds. Despite seemingly being made up of a scattering of various genres, ‘Demo’ works cohesively as a solid three-song demo that demonstrates an enormous potential for future success.

1. Summer Of Down

2. Jim Jones

3. The Bisel Blues