The Music

Good Ol' Rock 'n' Roll
by: nick evans

If you're going name your band "The Music", you better be a pretty good band. And these British guys fail to disappoint on this excellent debut. It's what music should be- straight forward, yet atmospheric rock n roll. Yes, good rock music has made a return visit. It is very Led Zeppelin, very Stone Roses, with a little bit of classic Sting and U2 in the mix. They built tons of buzz around themselves in England with the release of three EP's. Their first album in Europe even debuted at number 4 on the charts. And while they haven't necessarily found the same success in the USA yet, they have built a respectable cult following.

You've probably heard the first single, "Take the Long Road and Walk It" somewhere before, either as a snippet or in a commercial. It has an irresistible, classic riff that the whole song builds upon. Some of the album's other highlights include "The People", very similar to "Take the Long Road…", and "Turn Out the Light", their very successful attempt at a ballad. Its pretty much impossible not to make a comparison between the lead singer's voice and Robert Plant. The instrumentation on this album is wonderful- well-crafted melodies built around Adam Nutter's intricate guitar riffs. The last songs also toy with electronica- but definitely aren't the discs highlights.

The album's front cover artwork pretty much describes the atmosphere of the disk as a whole. It's very atmospheric, dark, and in your face, but at the same time electronic, colorful, and innovative. The album serves its purpose as bringing back the fun, (but not silly) straight forward rock back into music, as Led Zeppelin and U2 did. It's an album to dance to, an album to drive to, and an album to bang your head to. Now, that's music. 16-Sep-2003 8:41 PM