The latest EP from indie rockers, Hello Stranger, is a blast of fun-sounding rock songs that have plenty of meaning behind them. The band set out to create a collection of hard-hitting tracks that have plenty of substance behind them, and I’d say that is “Mission Accomplished.” The band shared, “We had these incredibly topical, salient songs we had been working on for months, but it was difficult to get into studios or collaborate with producers. As many other artists did during that time, we decided to do it ourselves.” By choosing the route of independence, this raw EP called True Belief stays true to who the band members are as people and they make a bold leap forward as a unit. With a sound that strays somewhere between Bayside, paired with the pop rock sensibilities of Switchfoot, Hello Stranger seem destined to be familiar in your music rotation.
The EP launches into orbit with the title track that features a great, driving bass line (courtesy of Doug Slohm) throughout the song paired with some great riffing between lead guitarist Alex Monfort and rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist Sam Deffenbaugh. Drummer Dillon Yoder pulsates in his hard-hitting approach to the kit, and keeps everything moving in the right direction for Hello Stranger. I found the bridge of, “If the bright lights feel like that you should see / Close your eyes / If the bright lights feel like something you will need / You’ll survive,” to be particularly powerful on this great introductory song.
Things stay on the right course with “We’re On Your Side” that showcases the unique guitar playing from Monfort to do some near-plucking of the guitar that echoes off the speakers and reverberates into the void. By the time Deffenbaugh hits his first vocal note, I was already sold on what the band were trying to accomplish here. They really are in-tune with each other’s strengths in the band, and they utilize each of these to their distinct advantage. Closing out the record with “Dead Reckoning” is a wise choice as it is a sprawling, 7-minute song about finding our purpose in this crazy and distracting world. The chorus of, “There’s no white gates in the way / We’ve barred our own escape / And afterlife is not after much / We cannot take in vain / If we can be turned away / There’s no promise in this promised land,” makes it clear that we have to take what we can earn in order to make a living.
Overall, there’s plenty to like in this collection of songs known as True Belief. The band could’ve paired up with a producer to possibly fine-tune, or get some additional ideas to add into the fold for this record, but I think their decision to take care of things “in house” ultimately was the right one. This EP sounds like a band who’s in tune with what works best for them, and they probably realized they had the right formula in these tracks to put them to tape for all the world to hear. Hello Stranger are saying goodbye to the days of not taking any chances, and have made a record worthy of praise and recognition.