YOU spins solid sophomore effort

The bands that are brave and venture out into new territory with their own songs have the most risk, but also the most reward. Oftentimes, the most popular bands are the ones who sing a majority of original songs. Local band YOU is one of these bands.\nRecently, YOU released its second album, Better Live. To begin with, the musicians should be commended with releasing a second CD worth of original material, which is no small feat. To top it all off, they do a good job with the music, too.\nYOU comes across with a funky, pop rock sound that is pretty catchy. Some of the songs are a little more upbeat, like "Player" and "Wonderband," and some are a little slow like "Here I Am" and "Davie," but all in all the songs do a good job of getting you moving, whether it be in your car or on the dance floor. They even throw in a little tribute to Indiana's bad boy himself, John Mellencamp, with the song "Random Option."\nPart of what makes YOU work so well with the music is the number of vocalists available in the band. Nick Niespodziani, Peter Olson, Matt Sonnicksen and Alyssa Finke all supply lead vocals for the band, which enables their songs to take on entirely different sounds, depending on who the vocalist is. \nIn the realm of music, college bands are always a toss up. Between making original music or simply covering another band, it's sort of a question of quick or long-term rewards. YOU chose to go the route of long-term rewards but are also receiving some success now. If Better Live is any indication, while YOU has room to improve, these musicians are laying the groundwork now for that bigger success later on.\nRating: 5