The formula works kids. God the Formula. Two or three voices, slicing guitars and thundering drums. Chunka chunka chunk damped guitar build, fade in all the stuff wooooahhhh! Rush that sugared adrenalin through the veins. It’s Ben Kweller with a kick drum.
Is this emo?
God knows. They toured with FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND.
In one way it's American suburban rock at its hateful worst. Anonymous, bland, derivative expensive and polished. Commodification is a word that should be spat like a curse, but it has too many syllables and the Americans don’t know what it means.
And yet, it’s strangely listenable. As McDonalds turns to dust in your mouth – here’s Subway to save your soul and screw your digestion. THE CARS meet GUNS n ROSES. The song radiance of the one, the bite of the second. And no moral excess. Perfect. Buy it for you 14 year old nephew. "I Want Somebody to Love" they howl. And it takes you along. Mmm salsa dip and wholegrain.
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Jim Scott is the producer and engineer. And he's done the rounds, so we'd expect nothing less than shit hot. Santana, Barenaked Ladies, Wilko, Johnny Bloody Cash, Tom Petty .. just make one up – he's sure to have been on been on their case too. But they were innovators.
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