Artist: Voicst
Album: 11-11
Label: Duurtlang Records/Intrigue Music
Tracks: 14
Length: 40:38
Review By: Jacob Gehman

It maddening when bands pick names that are hard to pronounce. Sure, the word voicst means "manic energy" in South African slang, but that doesn't mean the American tongues will be able to wrap themselves around it without adding other vowels. Even though that doesn't play into how the music sounds, it can play a large part in how the band is viewed. That said, the only people who should be turned off by having difficulty pronouncing their name will be the same people who have no interest in the high energy pop-rock area of the musical spectrum. It is somewhat geeky and would be right at home in a Weezer collection. Yet it is more than that, too.

The thing that immediately separates Voicst from Weezer would be how the songs evolve. They are not as straightforwardly executed, relying less on pure charisma and personality (although those are present, too.) The changes that happen to keep a song interesting from beginning to end vary. On one song it might be adding an extra riff here and there. On another it might be soaring background vocals 2/3rds of the way through the song.

This ability to keep things from getting monotonous is a big plus for the band, but it would be irrelevant if Voicst didn't execute the regular parts of song execution so well. The instruments are all on target and adeptly performed. No one would suggest that they are incredible musicians, but they use what they can do very well.

The only thing that gets annoying while listening to this album is their one vocalist. Both Tjeerd and Sven share in the vocal duty. The one is an excellent lead singer for this type of band. The other is good about 50% of the time. The other 50% he slips into this annoying way of enunciating that is way too reminiscent of Weezer to be too palatable.

People really into the power pop-rock branch of music should dig 11-11 (pronounced "Eleven to Eleven.") Just don't expect a re-invention of the wheel. Those who don't really like the genre may enjoy parts of the album, though would likely go a little bit crazy midway through the album. However, for the first group Voicst comes recommended.

2.5 stars out of 4