The band, Locnville, recently released their most recent album Sun in my Pocket, an interesting mix of techno, hip-hop and rap styles. The band has only two members, twin brothers Andrew and Brian Chaplin, but they manage to make a big sound. The name springs from the words lokshun and ville, meaning location and town respectively. According to the band, though, their name has no clear meaning, but it is inspired by the fact that they are half South African and half American.

   They claim their album is retro/hip-hop, but if that’s what it is, I never wish to listen to that type of music again. It not only sounds like bad techno music, it also sounds like bad rap. Synthesizers create a somewhat cool, dance beat, but when mixed with their unnatural sounding, deep voices and, to be blunt, stupid lyrics, it becomes a big mess.

  “I’ve got the sun in my pocket and the moon in hands. I throw it up amongst the stars and watch it move in a dance.” The first two lines in the debut single “Sun in my Pocket” made me automatically dislike the song. According to the band, the beat to the song was created before the lyrics and it reminded one member of the sun, so he wrote the lyrics. This song does not sound like anything I have ever associated with the sun; it is much too heavy sounding. Metaphorically, the first two lines mean that you control your own life, according to an interview with the band. This is not a song that I would feel inspired by to control my own life. Music shouldn’t try to be heavy and inspirational at the same time. 

  “Love Rush,” another single, is better, but not good. It sounds more or less the same as “Sun in my Pocket,” but has much better lyrics that make sense for a rap song to have. Synthesizers create an interesting beat, which, alone, I could listen to, but the vocals still sound unnatural.

  Several other songs by Locnville include “6 Second Poison” and “Lines in the Sky,” which are available on their website, or on youtube.com. The songs all sound similar, which is not a good thing. Albums should flow, but should not be so consistent that all the songs sound the same; that shows very little creativity on their part.

  The band claims to have been inspired by many bands, such as Kiss, ACDC and Nirvana, and many genres of music. Unfortunately, their attempt to blend them all together ultimately failed.