Link: Big City Rock’s Homepage and Big City Rock’s MySpace Page.
The Inside Pulse: Those looking for the future of American rock and roll may have to look no farther than Los Angeles, current home of Big City Rock. This quintet, originally from Madison, Wisconsin, has been releasing eponymously-titled EPs since 2003, and has finally released their major-label debut, aptly named Big City Rock. With a moniker like theirs, the bar is obviously set rather high. Does the band live up to their name, or do they fall flat on their faces?
Positives: Listening to this album, you would think this was a band that had been around for well over a decade rather than just a few years. This is a band brimming with confidence, something you’ll notice from the very first song on the album, “Sink”. Singer Nate Bott sounds like a younger, confident Bono as he sings about how far he would sink to prove his love, and his bandmates have perfected the art of crafting perfect pop, with fat hooks and juicy melodies. The album’s first single, “All Of The Above”, may be the best song you’ll hear on the radio all year. You can hear the New Wave influence in their music, but they’re not slaves to the past, as they’ve molded those influences to a modern sound. At 10 tracks long, there’s not a single piece of filler to be found. Every songs stands up to all the others, creating one of the rare albums you can listen to all the way through.
Negatives: At 35 minutes, the album is too short, although it sounds bad to suggest the band should have come up with some filler tracks to beep up the length.
Cross-breed: Simple Minds mixed with Echo and the Bunnymen, fronted by Bono.
Reason to buy: Because American rock and roll is still alive and well.
