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Test Your Reflex
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HQ: Los Angeles, CA NOW PLAYING: The Burning Hour (RCA) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: They're talented, cute and their music will make you want to dance. You really can't beat that. YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: Nightmare Of You / Rock Kills Kid / Hot Hot Heat "You have to know what you want as a band, before anyone else can tell you what you want," says Test Your Reflex frontman Ryan Levine, "because the moment you leave it in someone else's hand, I think that's the beginning of the breakdown." Test Your Reflex has made considerable progress since their inception-when Levine met drummer Sal Cortez through a former girlfriend back in 2004-by fleshing out their lineup with classically trained keyboardist Andrew Ampaya, bassist Agustin Sanchez and guitarist R.C. However, things really started gaining momentum when the band inked a deal with RCA nearly a year ago. But don't get the wrong idea. Just because they signed with a major doesn't mean they've lost control of what's most important-the music. And really, it's the driving, dance-fueled beats that set the band apart from their brooding peers. "Ultimately, I think [The Burning Hour] is very optimistic and hopeful," Levine says of the group's catchy, '80s-tinged debut. "Some of the songs have a bittersweet kind of thing, but always end on an optimistic note." So, not only are Test Your Reflex's emotive pop-rock songs (like the bouncy "Thinking Of You" or the Depeche Mode-esque "Pieces Of The Sun") refreshing change from the mopey, depressed rock saturating today's airwaves, but Test Your Reflex is also living proof that music is the great uniter, even if it's just on an inter-band level. "When Ryan presents the lyrics, it's really eye-opening to each of us," adds Ampaya. "The more we see, the more we want to put our hearts into the music and express how we feel." -Emily Zemler |
