I have a question. Did everyone in Atlanta end up going to see the Dark Knight on Friday night? Well okay…it is a damn good movie, but even so, shame on you. Atlanta locals Sonen performed the same night, with a rather underwhelming and perhaps discouraging turn-out. I was present the night of their Corndogorama performance, but missed it somehow. I’m guessing I was getting one step closer to hell eating a corndog and checking out the outdoor stage at the time, but luckily I was given one of Sonen’s demos later that night. Needless to say I was very impressed by the recording, as the EP’s five songs played in my car uninterrupted for a few days, slowly growing on me.

Their performance at Lenny’s Friday night was wrought with difficulties. Yet, as I had grown very familiar with several of their songs, the sound still translated to me, the live mix just made too ambiguous an otherwise very colorful sound. I asked lead guitar/vocalist Keith afterwards “what was the cover you did?” only for him to reply “we didn’t do a cover.” Apparently the mic levels were so off that I misheard vocalist/synth player Holly in between songs, what I understood was “this next song is a cover [muffled noises],” but God knows what she really said.

Throughout a number of line-up changes, health problems, member migration, etc., Sonen is still going strong, and picking up speed. Of course the odds weren’t in their favor Friday night as there were some more screwy sound problems other than the mic levels, and some tuning issues between songs, but this band definitely shows some promise. Once their latest line-up solidifies things should run much more smoothly, and I can get a good glimpse of their A-game which is displayed prominently throughout the demo EP.

Technical issues aside, their exciting bass-driven electro-punk sound was just what I needed to hear that night. It’s now clear to me that, in or out of the studio, Sonen has some of the tightest and most powerful drumming for bands of this kind. Holly’s vocals are outstanding. There is a compassionate and warm quality to her voice which at times is seemingly juxtaposed with biting irony. This and the menacing bass-lines sometimes make me feel like I’m listening to a futuristic version of the Breeders (don’t you dare misconstrue that as an insult).

It was all kind of a refreshing morale boost, which was perfect considering I was feeling very under the weather. This performance deserved a larger and more ebulient crowd of spectators. There was a lone enthusiastic man dancing with himself, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the audience, bouncing around the floor and weaving through the spaces between showgoers who chose to scatter themselves throughout the room. If only more of these guys showed up, the room would have been a living electro-popcorn machine.

By the way, this is what a fashion show at Lenny’s looks like.

(visit Sonen’s MySpace here)

photos: Vernon Langley