Home Town Hero
Final
Maverick
Competent if rather unassuming power-pop from Home Town Hero on their first album. They pull out all the stops, but ultimately fail to actually raise the roof however hard they try. Playing out their best card with the opening track “Bleeds In Blue,” the remainder of the album sees them pushing and pulling in all directions in an admirable effort, if nothing else, at finding some thing with a bit of punch and bite to it. And so they end up as an unlikely cross between Pearl Jam, Sum 41 and Coldplay, which isn’t half as likeable as you might think it’d be.
That said, they have a tendency to throw the odd catchy chorus in, when you least expect them to – or how about the nursery rhyme phrasing of “12 Oz.,” and the kiddie punk sing-along of “Questions.” So, it’s not a total miss, then, but they have a lot to prove next time around. As for now, there is too little to distinguish them from everyone else out there.
Maverick Records: http://www.maverick.com
