Air Raid Romance

Album review

Remember in the mid-'90s, when the standard-issue song format for forward-thinking rockers was the Nirvana-style, soft-verse-now-loud-chorus approach? In the middle of the 21st century's first decade, there's a new (but related) formula in place. These days, cutting-edge rockers keep things loud and aggressive throughout the whole song, but they alternate between singing (sometimes with tight, sweet harmonies) and ragged screaming. It's a pattern that can be either bracingly effective or numbingly tiresome, and you'll find examples of both on this debut effort from New York-based Never Enders. Their sound is well put together, and guitarists Chris DeMeo and Gerry Soman are especially to be commended for the unfussy, airtight solidity of their playing -- note in particular the powerful "Today's the Day" and the strangely hooky "Something Beautiful." As is the case with many bands of this type, the screaming sometimes sounds as if it's been tacked on as an afterthought, or inserted just to pick up one particular subgroup of the target demographic. But there's no question that Air Raid Romance will make a great driving album for the under-25 set.

© Rick Anderson /TiVo