When it comes to buying and listening to music, I have always been one that goes "overboard", listening to anything and everything that my time will allow. While I buy and listen to most of the major label releases that get the full page ads in most of the usual magazines, I'm always exploring new artists, hoping to find that special sound that exudes that "it" element. It's hard to explain what that "it" is, but for me, it's that something extra you feel, at the same time you hear it. With the excessive volume of music that I listen to, the shelf life of an album in my playing rotation is maybe a week or two, unless of course, I find one of those special sounds. So when I tell you that the new EP from the southern California based band, FALLEN UNION, has been in my ears for over a month, I need not say anything more. You know that old saying, "if it feels good, do it"? This one feels really good.

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, FALLEN UNION, consisting of JT on vocals, Henry Rojas on guitar, Julez on bass, and PJ on drums, plays a universally infectious style of Hard Rock that all of us have lost our minds to at some point in our lives. In a time when rock music is overanalyzed and critiqued by all of these overly opinionated "experts", these guys just plug in, play loud, and bring the heat. One of the greatest characteristics of FALLEN UNION's style is the resilient passion that fuels their creative fire, producing music that appeals to most any fan of good, hard-driving rock n' roll. This is a great live band first and foremost, and after entering the studio, it's obvious that they injected their energetic live-show vibe into the recording of their self-titled, four song EP.

What immediately stuck out to me after my first listen to the EP, "Fallen Union", was the authentic street-wise grit of Sunset Strip pioneers like MOTLEY CRUE and L.A. GUNS, on top of the more contemporary, radio-friendly zest of modern rock bands like SHINEDOWN and SEETHER. This distinct musical recipe takes shape on the first track, "No Longer Am"; a solid radio-friendly song that plants the seed from which this offering will grow. On track two, "Down On Me", the title pretty much sums up the lyrical theme of this powerful rock n' roll "love song", while the band seemingly draws influence from the old Hollywood sound. "Trapped" is a hauntingly powerful track that showcases the rhythm section of the band with a drum dominant rollercoaster ride of thunder, and is one of the best-written songs on the EP. The last track, and by far my favorite of the four, "Jesus Junkies", is a song that could put FALLEN UNION on the radar. With it's chunky, groove driven riffing and infectious chorus, this is a serious rock n' roll track and should be played LOUD. With this being their first release, these four songs will do for now, but with the collective talent they possess and with the detectable "it" in their music, a full LP will be highly anticipated.

FALLEN UNION is a band that, with the right breaks here and there, and with a good promotions team behind them, could jumpstart a SoCal Hard Rock resurrection. And with the release of their EP, they've taken a big step in that direction. They will be playing a big show at Avalon Bardot in Hollywood on March 25^th. Come out and support these guys.