The second half remembers that funky rock the Spin Doctors did that we’ve worked so hard to forget, but the first few songs aren’t half bad radio rock.
Andrew McMahon is off to a good start, with moments like a Jellyfish cover band just starting out on their own. Like a future Ben Folds as he finds his legs.
As Friends Rust have moved away from the Hot Water Music-cum-Avail type of emo hardcore and into the more mature style of Dag Nasty, and all for the better.
NOFXian drum thunder and neat production tricks don’t save predictable songwriting and the fact that the singer – husky voice or not – misses a lot of notes.
It’s actually quite melancholy and touching, it just that it doesn’t live up to what I expected from ex-Cross My Heart guitarist/vocalist Ryan Shelkett.
Dan the Automator has popped out of the woodwork again. Lounge-y hip hop beats with a too-slick feel, low-riding basses and shiny ’70s funk rhythm sections.