Analog

Steve Soto and the Twisted Hearts
An Exercise in Blue

O.K. let it be known, I work at Analog, this is our website and I don’t write reviews for a living, I’m just a marketing slob, so I don’t have any obligation to be objective. With that being said I can tell you I grew up on a heavy dose of punk rock and music has been a very significant part of my long life. I’ve been lucky enough to share that musical life with some incredible people and musicians, so I’m stoked to write about Steve Soto’s newest and seriously greatest release. If you don’t know Steve you know some of the bands he’s been part of, the Adolescents, Agent Orange, Joyride, 22 Jacks and a host of others. I’ve spent a lot of time with Steve so when he turned over the first demo’s to what would later become this record I knew he had something special. I played that demo for weeks straight. So here’s the disclaimer, it’s O.K. to pretend you’re not punk, but it’s never O.K. to pretend you are. Steve Soto is punk and Steve Soto plays in an incredible rock and roll band called the Twisted Hearts. There are all kinds of labels I can use here but in my mind it’s the Replacements meets Ryan Adams. And like Ryan or Paul, Steve is an incredible songwriter, lyrically and sonically. The opener “down on the left “ reminds me of a later time after the all those Black Hole stories were just that. Stories. But, when I listen I can see those Fullerton streets and I know that bar and I know that feeling. And you’ll feel it to when he lays it all on the line in “lying next to a stranger” the most gut wrenching, heart on his sleeve song on the record. Call it alt-country, pop or just rock and roll, these are some of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time.  Cheers Hoakie…..

Steve and the Twisted Hearts will be releasing the record on itunes and hitting the road in mid march. Check him at http://www.myspace.com/stevesotoandtwistedhearts