SFP ROCK – “Run Away” / “Do You Know”

SFP ROCK – “Run Away” / “Do You Know” – Singles Review

It’s been a hot minute or two since we last had Maria Chabo and her music on our pages…probably about four years or so I guess?  Almost five?  It’s been a while.  Looks like she’s been keeping busy though…SFP.Band has morphed into SFP ROCK, and they’ve got a brand-new album called Healing (2)-1 that is out & available online now for ya.  I snagged a couple slices of the record and some promo videos to keep you entertained in this review, so let’s have a listen and see what Maria has been up to lately.

I think from what I’ve gathered, “Run Away” is the primary single from the new SFP ROCK album – and it won’t take all that much of a spin before you’d understand why that would be.  Built on single-worthy sound…I gotta admit…I got chills in listening to this track, because it’s INCREDIBLY powerful.  Like, the vocals are absolutely outta this world good!  No joke folks…”Run Away” would be so remarkably tough to sing without some sort of nuclear source for the power you’d need to sing it…and to hear how strong the vocals have come out in the hooks of this song is nothing short of breathtaking on both sides of the speakers.  How Maria and her cohorts in SFP ROCK managed to limit this MONUMENTAL moment in time to less than three minutes in length, I might never know…most bands and artists would have happily milked this MAMMOTH anthem into something five or six minutes long, and I’m honestly kind of surprised by the restraint that’s been shown to us here!  That being said, there’s absolutely no wasted space in this track, and SFP ROCK has given you every reason to return to it.  It’s got this understated Post-Rock thread to the sound in the verses that I absolutely love, which in turn takes the slow-burning spark of this idea to heights so spectacular you’d never see it coming by the time you reach the song’s main hooks – and when you get there, I’m tellin’ ya, this whole composition will completely blow your mind.  You can hear a song like “Run Away” means business from the second it starts, there’s no doubt about that…but again, to hear how this song expands to levels beyond anything you thought possible, is nothing short of pure joy to experience.  It’s STAGGERING y’all…like…I promise you, by the time that you reach the 1:23 mark, you’ll have already gone through a killer verse and a perfect chorus…and you’ll think that the song couldn’t have gotten any better than it already was…but then that moment hits and you’ll be easily convinced you likely haven’t heard a better moment in a Rock song of any kind this year, or even perhaps within this last decade.  Now…I suppose it’s fair to say that moment might even be considered to be the bridge in this song as it only appears the one time – but again, let’s be real here – that’s the biggest hook the song has, and to hear SFP ROCK get every ounce out of its potential is not only extremely pleasing to the ear, you’ll literally be on the edge of your seat as you wonder if they can meet the moment to make the full scale of the climb demanded by the melody they’ve written.  It is no easy accomplishment…it couldn’t be…you’d have to be superhuman to sing this song and get the pairing of the emotion so perfectly matched for the expression within the lyricism.  I don’t know how SFP ROCK has done it or how they survived recording this, but I’m happy to report back on how special the results are – “Run Away” is seriously outstanding, jaw dropping, and awe-inspiring at the heights of its intensity.

Now…I’m old enough to know what we’re all up against here.  Is anything going to be able to compete with a track as rare as what “Run Away” sounds like?  No.  Of course not.  Was I pleasantly surprised to find a song that was at least a killer attempt?  Hell yeah!  “Do You Know” is along the lines of something you’d expect to find in a cut by Three Days Grace or Korn…maybe even (Hed) P.E. – and it’s WILD y’all.  Maria has done such a wicked job with the composition and lyricism on both these tracks, and I can guarantee they’ll both hit so much harder than you’d ever see coming based on what you’ve heard from her past catalog of tunes.  Maybe I didn’t know enough about her music before, or maybe she’s embraced a venomous second chapter of her journey that is taking her sound into Alternative/Nu-Metal terrain…I’ll let you be the judge and jury to decide how we really got here, all I know is that now that I’ve heard what she’s capable of at MAX POWER, I want nothing less than this!  SFP ROCK has redefined the standards and set the bar so much higher, in my opinion.  “Do You Know” might even draw some justifiable comparisons to the punch and potency you’d find in the rumble and shake of a record like S.C.I.E.N.C.E. from Incubus…but I think we still have to acknowledge that this song hits even harder than any of the names I’ve cited so far.  SFP ROCK sounds completely and utterly POSSESSED in all the right ways.  “Do You Know” will be another track that’ll exceed any expectations you could possibly have.  At less than TWO MINUTES in length this time…I don’t know how Maria & Co. have been able to generate such extraordinary excitement in songs that basically wrap up by the time we get into’em, but I know the reality I’m living in, and that’s the case.  Both these songs from Healing (2)-1 are as EPIC as they come – like…LISTEN to that main transition into the intensity that occurs in “Do You Know” as it switches gears just prior to the thirty second mark…it’s INSANELY GOOD.  Chabo’s penned some compelling lyrics that deal directly with God and religion as well…thought-provoking stuff that would be engaging to any set of ears regardless of where their faith lies.  Honestly, this is as fantastic as I can ever recall hearing Maria’s music in the past and a HUGE leap forward in her artistic evolution.  Everything about these two songs is 100% worth listening to…you won’t just wanna spin through’em once, so clear some space on your calendar, because these two cuts from SFP ROCK’s new album are about to DOMINATE YOUR WHOLE FREAKIN’ LIFE & occupy all the free time you got – and you’ll be damn thankful for that.  Enjoy!

Find out more about SFP ROCK from their official page at Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/sfp.rock

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