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The Wellingtons

For Friends in Far Away Places

(Popboomerang; US: 12 Feb 2007; UK: Available as import)

The Wellingtons have all that youthful energy you had when you were a youngster. And it’s that oomph which comes across on the emo-lite power pop of “The Nice One” and “Top 10 List”. The slap-happy track “Sight for Sore Eyes” has more in common with groups like Cheap Trick than it does with the current crop of outfits like Simple Plan, New Found Glory and many others of that ilk (although “Girls in Magazine” is just that). But after the initial honeymoon period on the album, a lot of the songs don’t seem to rise above the bar, including “Singer in a Cover Band” which sounds perfect for a cover band in some sketchy roadhouse. The Wellingtons come back with a decent “Goodbye Heartbreaker” which could be the greatest hit a group such as Eve 6 never recorded. Yet things again head into the dumpster with the warm, island-tinged pop oozing out of the rather bland “Doin’ it With You”.

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.


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