Quantcast

Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers

Music

It’s a long way to Tipperary, it’s a long way to go… oops, I mean it’s a long way from Alabama to Minnesota. The Rewinds are from Alabama, but they have not one iota of Skynard or any Southern rock in them. Instead, they sound like disciples of The Replacements and/or Soul Asylum judging by the amount of well-crafted pop rock material, as heard in the sweet harmonies of “New Shade Of Red”, but without the urgent, frantic energy. It’s a solid start that sees the song’s throttle open up for the homestretch.  They find that energy later on with the the simultaneously pretty yet brawny “See You In The Underground”. Meanwhile, “Everytime” is a simpler but delectable ditty that sounds like a cross between Franz Ferdinand and Big Star. It’s good, but not great.  Some tracks, like “Ghostriders”, lack that little extra oomph to put them over the edge despite drummer Brooks Marks working triple time, at times. “Fascination” is a mix of Brit pop with California summer sounds, resulting in a rather interesting tune, but the band strikes Midwestern gold with “Sentimental Flaw”, a song that oozes smart, infectious pop rock. The same shall be said for “Voice In My Head” and the slow brewing “Melody” that has a nice, er, melody. Perhaps the surprise, here, is how well “It’s Not The End” turns out: a cross between The Rembrandts and Sloan. And things end with a strolling, Elliott Smith-like “Calling Your Name”.

Rating:

Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


Comments
Now on PopMatters
Mommy Fearest: 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' (Blu-ray) (Short Ends and Leader) [Wed, 12:30 pm]
2012 Nelsonville Music Festival (Notes from the Road) [Wed, 12:00 pm]
20 Questions: Hannibal Buress (Sound Affects) [Wed, 11:00 am]
Cannes 2012: 'Reality' + 'In the Fog' (Reviews) [Wed, 8:08 am]
Love, and Other Indelible Stains (Columns) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Sigur Rós: Valtari (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Lemonade: Diver (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Cory Branan: Mutt (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Big Science: Difficulty (Capsule Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  6. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  7. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  8. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  9. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  10. The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader)
  11. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  12. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  13. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  14. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  15. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  16. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  17. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  18. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  19. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  20. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
  21. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  22. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  23. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  24. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  25. The Walkmen: Heaven (Reviews)
  26. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  27. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  28. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  29. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
  30. Various Artists: Occupy This Album (Reviews)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.