New York Rock and Roll
01/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"People say a lot about the revival of RnR in NYC; that it's cool to play guitar again and to wear jackets with zippers in the wrong places and to cite A Certain Ratio as an influence. They are right, to those who never heard of Gang of Four until six months ago and are amazed that rhythm guitars can have angles, bass lines can can be danceable, and choruses can be catchy, new NYC rock seems to be innovative, or at least as innovative as their derivativeness allows. Well, so what? There has got to be something more and that something more is knowing how to rock. This is what separates Cheap Trick and the MC5 from The Pop Group and it is what separates Tiger Mountain from The Strokes, The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, etc. Clever songwriting, big changes, big guitars, harmonies and all in the service of the evil powers of Rock and Roll. Recommended."