The Harmonics at Stanford University are known for singing edgier songs with a rough-hewn aura about them. Such is the case with the group's latest release, a cover of the Marianas Trench ode to violently letting go of a lost love, Ever After. I would caution the Harmonics on the next release to pay a bit more attention to that fine line between edgy and rough. There are moments on this track that are hard to listen to, and then others that lock in utter gloriousness.

Soloist Mitchell Zimmerman could just as easily front the real Marianas Trench as he does The Harmonics with ease and professionalism. It's not often that you can have a true rock tenor in collegiate a cappella. He and the rest of The Harmonics have a lot of passion for this song, and it is palpable throughout. He gets a bit pinched in the upper screaming range, but overall he's got an amazing voice that is very energetic and engaging.

Unfortunately, it is that generic ICCA a cappella scream near the end of the track that hurts the overall viability of the song and arrangement. Starting at the 3:30 moment (yep, it's a pretty long track as there is another 1:30 to go), the upper voices just have these underscoring blocks of screaming for no reason. They don't especially add to the tone coloring of the music or the lyrical message. But the most egregious is the long "faaaaaaahr" at 4:47. I get what it was supposed to do, but it just doesn't work.

Quibbles aside, Ever After is definitely a solid track from a group that makes super solid tracks.