Album Review: He Is We - My Forever

Some of my favorite memories about music deal with discovering great bands, sharing these discoveries with friends, going to small shows to support said bands, and seeing the passion these bands have for their art. This topic comes to mind anytime I find new bands that I enjoy, and these were my thoughts when I listened to He Is We for the first time.

He Is We is an indie pop duo that are bound to be on many pop fans’ playlists. Whether it’s Rachel Taylor’s silky smooth vocals or Trevor Kelly’s elegantly simple instrumentation, He Is We aim to make a strong impression on listeners with their debut full length, 'My Forever'.

'My Forever' is an indie pop fan’s dream; it’s a collection of songs that are as catchy as they are well-written. Album opener ‘Forever & Ever’ is a perfect showcase of the duos’ strong points. It’s smart pop music: gorgeous melodies, strong vocals, and enough punch from the music to tie everything together. Aaron Gillespie guests on ‘All About Us’, a love song that will likely be stuck in my head for days. The pair complements each other well in the vocal department, and while Gillespie may not be in his element here, he sounds damn good. ‘All About Us’ is definitely a stand out track on the album.

There really isn’t a “throw away” track in the bunch, with gems like‘Prove You Wrong’ and ‘Blame It On The Rain’ rounding out the album. While most aspects of the album are great, some of the lyrics aren’t exactly brilliant. That being said, it is a pop album, so it should be expected that there aren’t any super deep, moody and introspective lyrics. 'My Forever' is meant to be an easy, fun listen, and it succeeds in that way lyrically.

He Is We is definitely going to be a band that many, many listeners will be pleased to discover and share with their friends. 'My Forever' has plenty of pop sheen, artistic passion, and indie sensibility to appeal to many listeners, and will be in heavy rotation in their playlists as soon as they check He Is We out.

4/5

'My Forever' by He Is We is available now through Universal Motown/FrameworkNY Records.

Official Website
He Is We on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Landon Peterson