Somebody’s Child – “Broken Record”

SXSW 2023 – OEB Score 8, Popularity Index 5

Pairs well with…Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, The Lonely Wild 

With a broad nostalgic brush, Somebody’s Child’s sweeps elements of indie rock bands from the 80’s through 00’s into their music. Cian Godfrey’s rich voice gives power to a progression of cinematic anthems, ballads, power ballads, with one or two rock bangers. While the songs are relatively consistent in structure and instrumentation, a few tracks stand out for their potential to translate to arena stages. “Broken Record” will capture a room with its steady percussion and reverb guitar, along with Godfrey’s earnest emotive voice singing forth about holding onto the innocence of childhood.  “Hold Me Like You Wanna” and “I Need Ya” are similar anthemic plaintive power pop tracks. “Stay” sheds the introspective in favor of building a rock anthem whereas “Jungle” features a more riotous and ragged approach. The final song, “We Could Start a War” is an emotive banger which would work well as a set closer. While Somebody’s Child’s songs may often have you scratching that itch that they sound like somebody, the musicianship and passion and power of Godfrey’s vocals take the music beyond derivative to a worthwhile place of homage and synthesis – and good old rock ‘n roll enjoyment. (David Zlotnick)