Long Beach California’s own One High Five releases their debut CD entitled Here Hear in 2009.  

The EP quickly kicks things off with rocking “The Ol’ Switcheroo” an impressive intro piece that dishes out low end rock groove, driving rhythms against a mean sounding guitar & infectious vocal hooks & phrasing from lead singer David Sauer.

Track 2 “Gameshow” serves-up another strong piece of music combining driving rock rhythm with raw vocal passion that methodically flows & ebbs its way through emotional fruition. Track 3 “How We Enjoyed Ourselves” shifts gears a bit with driving acoustic rhythm, hooky harmonies & catchy melodies. As the EP slowly unfolds I can hear many different musical textures reminiscent of classic Weezer, Green day, They Might Be Giants, The President of the United States of America with just a dash of Bare Naked Ladies. The music has everything you would expect from a full tilt Indie Rock band. You will also notice thing like well-placed percussive accents, keyboard accents, accordion, trumpet, saxophone, slamming solo guitar & many lush harmonies. Solid low end rock grooves, driving distorted rhythm guitar with catchy melodic vocals & even impressive solo guitar action. The vocal style of Sauer is highly entertaining & goes down smooth & fills the space with his eccentric yet infectious vocal personality. As the EP slowly unfolds it’s obvious “One High Five” is an accomplished rock that lets it all hang out combining catchy vocal melodies with highly original songwriting. If these guys had a solid live presentation they would indeed be even more deadly. All songs themselves are solid across the board with the lyrical content that is funny, zany, yet highly entertaining. From hypnotic “Crash the Party” to rocking “Everybody Pull the Trigger” this EP has something for just about everyone. The EP ends with “1000 Miles per Hour” the perfect finale statement for an EP like this.

I normally dedicate this paragraph to weaknesses – as you can see I have nothing to report. However I will note that I don’t give 10 star ratings to EP’s – only full length CD’s.  

After checking out Here Hear by “One High Five” I abandoned all hopes of finding any serious flaws. This debut EP is an impressive debut statement that clearly proves this band is a force to be reckoned with in Southern California. There’s really not a weak song on the EP. I would even go so far as to say 100% of this EP is radio friendly, & has hit potential. I especially like how the songs hit hard yet still maintain strong marketability & melodic structure. All songs are all short & sweet musical experiences, & the overall production is world class. I look forward to checking out more material from On High Five hopefully this Summer.