It has been some 15 years since {CHOEY G} has been in a studio, and on this album, he provided all the lead vocals and guitars. Working with producer Reagan McKinnon at The Porch Recording led to Reagan playing drums, providing backing vocals plus all other instruments as well as polishing the result and assisting in the creative direction. Although CHOEY G said he was influenced by bands such as Blink 182 and Gary Moore I still wasn’t sure what to expect, as he has a look and photographs which makes one think that perhaps musically he is quite different to his influences, but no. While Blink 182 are obvious, as this is emo pop punk with passion, it might have taken me a while to pick up on Gary Moore, but if he means Gary when he was a full-on heavy metal head (as opposed to his earlier fusion and later blues) then I get it.
There are times when we feel we are being taken down the pop punk route and then he throws in a blistering guitar solo which is both totally in keeping and yet also very different to what one might expect. This is music which cries out to be heard in the live environment and I certainly hope he is going to put a band together so he can get out there, as there are a host of bands in Auckland who would love to have them on the bill. This is polished, with poise and never sounds either like a solo performance or the first time in the studio for some years. We Are The Ones starts gently enough before taking on a life of its own with loads of vocals, solid riffs and stacks of energy and this enthusiasm carries on throughout.
I asked him about the lyrical aspect, and he said that he had gone through times of stagnation in his life where I couldn’t see the light in anything, which is why the album title is a question. “What does time mean to you? Are you valuing your time, and utilising it before it’s too late?” Lyrically he songs about taking control over your life whilst you have the chance, to stop putting it off until tomorrow and get going right now! This message is wrapped in fun bubblegum numbers which make the listener smile, as this is just a fun album. The songs also manage to come at the genre from different styles, so much so that one never feels like the album is too similar. Music to smile to, now let’s see it live!
Rating: 7/10
