Strata Self-Titled. Release Date : July 27, 2004. Label: Wind-Up. Rating: Oldschool. (Screw points. To each his own!) There's a lot of Filter in the rage of this album. Okay it's a bit radio rock, but I rather like it. Not that everything on the radio is crap of course, but a lot of it is indistinguishable from anything else on the radio. This album is strikingly harmonious. Loud but flowy and well-arranged. It might partially be the nostalgia it fills me with - this reminds me of the edgy rock bands I used to listen to around the turn of the millenium. The heavy metal drums get a bit corny on "Just Like Silk" - this song in general is a bit on the Tea-Party-ethnicity-meets-black-metal side of things. The chorus is nice... well, let's say the vocals in the chorus are nice. Really, the swift harmonious lead vocals sometimes seem at odds with the evil and heavy music. It starts to get back and forth from there. Maybe it's just getting old, Im not sure. But some of the songs lack lustre, and some of them still seem quite spectacular. They are definitely heartfelt and perfect fodder for the disaffected high school students of today. I know exactly what that's like - this is the sort of band that those rebels will hold so so dear to them. I think that's a good thing. Song of choice : I like the snippy-snappy start-up to "Never There" -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Strata website Published : January, 2007.