Pacific Notion - ​All Natural

Pacific Notion 

​All Natural 
self-released; 2017

​3.6 out of 5

By Corrine Cassels

Pacific Notion is a band of young musicians from South Texas that formed while they were still in high school in 2012 under the name The All Naturals. They recently reunited and changed their name, while paying homage to their past with their debut EP All Natural. Their sound is a combination of rock and pop punk with songs full of teen angst and drama.  

The album started with “Manifesto” which immediately gave off a solid rock vibe. The overall instrumental sound came off strong and tight but the vocals were a little lacking, at least at first. The off key notes and off beat melodies were a little distracting but became almost endearing by the end of the song. The next song, “Disaster” had a full minute instrumental intro and I was really into it. These are obviously talented musicians and have the rock n’ roll thing down in an impressive way. Again, the vocals were really off-key, and at some points distracting. The quick-fire vocal part did not work for me at all; it threw off the whole balance of the song. But overall I still enjoyed the drama of it all.

“Alone in My Room” was like a pop punk version of “In My Room” by The Beach Boys and I really enjoyed it. The lead singer described the lyrics of clutter and comfort as an allegory for anxiety which I find extremely creative and poignant. In this track, the imperfections of the vocals worked perfectly within the context of the song. If there was a way to bring more of this spirit into the other tracks then I feel the vocals would fit better.

​A little disorder blended into the tight instrumental arrangements would paint more of a complete picture in my opinion. The final track “Pill” was a dark punk take on a love song; “If I swallowed a pill, would you swallow it with me?” Again I found the vocals distracting but I still liked the concept of the song.

Pacific Notion is a young bunch of talented artists. I do think there is more work to do to round out their sound a bit but I feel like they’re working with a solid foundation. Since the vocals are a little messy and scattered, I think adding a little of those elements elsewhere in the tracks would complement the vocals immensely. All Natural is a great starting point to future work.

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