Steam , Take it Back , and Come Undone are some of the best tracks I've heard in a good while. The CD rules, and once they learn to focus on improving their soloists, and fix up a couple of their slips, these guys will kick serious ass. I like the Dartmouth Aires' approach to a cappella so much. They have embraced the late-'90s style of full, complex pop arrangements, but don't make the mistake of adding so much clutter that the sound of human voices is lost. They sound like they're having fun, even in block.
Solid percussionists keep the energy up throughout.
The Aires tackle a lot of songs that are just plain hard to sing. There's a reason why Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Freddie Mercury vocals are often covered by women in mixed groups. Some of the Aires' soloists are pushing beyond the natural bounds of their voices, with hoarse and hollow results. Tuning is an equally big problem. The album begins with such promise, but lazy chords on most of the rest forced my scores down.