You all know SNC's story, about these 10 all male Indiana alums posting the vid "12 Days of Christmas" from their Collegiate career on YouTube, getting over 10 million hits, reuniting as an a cappella group, releasing two hot Christmas CDs, and doing live performances at major venues across the country. You know, the usual! Well, "With a Twist" adds some dynamic, cutting-edge arrangements and wonderful new covers to SNC's repertoire. With a smooth, polished sound and rock solid vocal percussion reminiscent of Rockapella, The House Jacks and The Blenders, Straight No Chaser is showing off some formidable vocal chops here! Twelve well-chosen cuts, beginning with a Reggae take on a medley that seamlessly and surprisingly segues J. Mraz's "I'm Yours" into Harold Arlen's classic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow;" an upbeat, rhythmic arrangement of Ed Cobb's Soft Cell hit "Tainted Love," another Reggae look at Crowded Houses' "Don't Dream It's Over," a rich, harmonic rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You," a big fun, swinging medley of S. Morris' "You & Me & The Bottle Makes Three" with a surprising segue into the Glee hit "Single Ladies;" a nice cover of Oasis's bluesy "Wonderwall," Queen's "You're My Best Friend," an amazingly arranged version of Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World," the Red Hot Chili Peppers' moody hit "Under the Bridge," and finally, Barry Manilow's "One Voice," featuring guest vocals by Barry himself! It's clear from "With a Twist" that SNC is playing with the big kids now, performing and recording on a level with some of the top groups in the a cappella world, and, as a favorite of ours in their Collegiate days, we couldn't be happier for them! |