3WD

Presentación del Álbum

Like fellow countrymen the Hives and Soundtrack of Our Lives, Swedish power trio Elope love '60s garage and psychedelic rock, but 3WD, the first of two releases in 2006 -- the latter accentuates their more pastoral leanings -- is far too elegant to be a Hives knockoff and far too raucous to harbor comparisons to SOL. Elope do hook-laden hard rock like they were born in a pub, but they know how to twist a memorable melody into the song's core and still maintain the boot-stomping energy than birthed it. 3WD is by no means a landmark album -- it doesn't take the genre to new heights like Dungen's Ta Det Lugnt -- but it's solid, confident, and raunchy in all the right places. While the blistering title cut may open the garage door just wide enough to toss a cigarette butt out, McCartney-inspired pop musings like "Misbehaving in the Summernight," Replacements-esque heartland rockers like "Not Even Close," and the Secret Machines-style instrumental closer "Out from the Blue Two" show a depth of field that bodes well for future recordings.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo