Represent! - The Action That You Need EP

Band: Represent!
Album: The Action That you Need EP
Genre: Electonic/pop
Label: None

Tracks:
1. It's Perfect Weather
2. Fresh Won't Define
3. Don't Wake Me Up
4. Knock! Knock! Knock!
5. City Lights
6. Mosey
7. Just Begun

As I said before, whenever an "underground" act breaks into the mainstream, you can rest assured many, many imitations will follow them. When Hellogoodbye broke about two years ago, their electronic, overly auto-tuned and modulated vocal stylings and corny/cheesy lyrics were a new sound to most of America. Shortly after, bands like Playradioplay began to get signed and move up the myspace artist charts. The flood of similar sounding artists offered little in terms of quality, but in the industry, at times, it's more about offering any product that can sell as opposed to one that deserves to sell. One group, or should I say person who has not signed, and probably deserves to have by now, is Minnesota's Represent. Represent is dance beat heavy, electronic pop act completely mastermind by a young man name Jared Kocka who recently released, "The Action That You Need ep," himself and if his myspace vitals [almost 1/4 of a million plays, ] are any sign, there is a strong demand for him to be the next big thing.

I first approached this ep with caution as I have heard more than my fair share of kids with Garage Band and a couple hours of free time. Jared doesn't bring a whole lot of new sound to this genre, though he does add the occasional acoustic guitar to the mix, which does serve to mix up the formula just enough for you to notice him. The opener, "It's Perfect Weather," is a quick dance inducing track that's all about electronic pop music's favorite topic: dancing. "It's the perfect weather, to shake your tail feathers," serves as the big hook in the chorus to the opener and though it is ridiculously corny, it seems to fit quite well with the music and you don't even mind the sub-par lyricism. "Fresh Won't Define," the second track, is the obvious choice for a, "single," as it's catchy beat mixes so well with the lyrics in a way that just screams, "play this on the radio." While I made my way through this ep, i continually pictured tweens and teens dancing around their rooms and in the backseat of their parent's cars while dancing and lip synching and that's all due to the fact, regardless of originality or skill level, every song has a likeability factor through the roof. Later on, we find the guitar comes more into play as the lead instrument on various songs, like, "Knock, Knock, Knock," which shows us that Jared has more to his craft than a few simple programming maneuvers. His ability to mix real guitar with synth and pre-programmed drum tracks seeps into your system, whether or not you want it to. The closer, "Just Begun," is easily the most advanced track on the album. The lyrics are silly, but at this point it's clear it's like that on purpose, but the music flows so well that you just wonder what he'll come up with next. Unfortunately, since this is only an ep, we'll have to wait for the next time around.

Represent is possibly the most marketable unsigned act around. The music is catchy as are the lyrics, and most importantly, it's fun to listen to. There's no way you can take what has been crafted here seriously, as the multiple references to hip hop songs take away any notion of, "trying to move your soul." If nothing else, everyone should give Represent a listen just to experience what it means to make "fun" music that still has some value in terms of craftsmanship. I think there's a bright future for Mr. Kocka, and I think anyone who gives Represent a listen will be left feeling the same.

Grade: 7.5/10
MYSPACE