A strange sense of deja vu seeped into my consciousness as I read the press release for the self-titled debut by this power trio from Nashville, Tennessee, who promise to provide 'the melody, harmony and rhythm you need in your life.'
So, let's see: cliche list of influences? 'The newly formed bands [sic] unwritten manifesto clearly cited a love of classic rock and powerpop from the big names - The Who, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin - through 80's new wave pop gems - The Cars, The Jags, The Pretenders - to the alternative pop classics like Matthew Sweet, Superdrag and Sloan.' Check.
How about a track with a generic guitar riff that sounds like The Hives' 'Hate to Say I Told You So,' which was pretty generic when it came out a decade ago? Yup, opener 'Call to Arms' does that with a fairly obvious dash of Who thrown in, an even has a siren by way of an intro!
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And so it goes on.... It's not that 'The Antennas' is a bad album, and the songs - melodic, harmony-filled and hooky - certainly don't lack energy or enthusiasm. However, a little originality goes a very long way...
www.myspace.com/theantennas
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