Audrye Sessions, Audrye Sessions

Do a little research into this band, and you’ll find that they’re quite popular with high school crowd, particularly girls. Will features in CosmoGirl and MTV2.com lead to the inevitable appearance on The Hills or the new Twilight soundtrack? Probably not, but all this buzz bodes well for the Oakland quartet, even if I’m a 26-year-old Asian male.

From the start, you get a big dose of Ryan Karazija’s vocals, and more than any other band I’ve heard, Audrye Sessions really revolves around their lead vocals. Karazija confidently soars through his vocal range, going from his natural tenor into a strong falsetto that evokes Muse lead singer Matthew Bellamy. Personally, there are times where Karazija’s vocals just feel a bit off, particularly in the chorus and bridge of “Perfect, Sometimes,” which sounds strained and forced, while the same vocal style helps make “Awake” one of the highlights of the album.

Audrye Sessions gives quite a bit of variety, which leads to some nice pacing. The insertion of the slower acoustic songs, like “New Year’s Day” and the love ballad “Relentless,” nicely complement the arena-rock ballad “Where You’ll Find Me.” The music is purposeful, without any unnecessarily long guitar solos or breaks but still allowing the band to breathe and show off their chops.

The amazing thing is that Audrye Sessions sounds a lot like a band from the UK — a little Snow Patrol here, a little Badly Drawn Boy there, with just a pinch of Coldplay. It’s as if Oakland was secretly annexed by England. It a takes a little time to get used to it, but in the end, you’re rewarded with a very satisfying album, even if you’re a few years removed from 16.