Though the sound owes no debt to the imitable Smiths, in a way you have heard all of these songs before. The heaviest rocker "The Last Ride" is the most showgazer of the bunch, while "Chaught Up" combines Stone Roses groove with Beatlesque touches, including an odd and overdone "yeah yeah yeah" phrasing. Other tracks employ these samey-sounding droning riffs in the mold of "Paperback Writer", as on almost industrial "Need It", or twin tracks "InBetweens" and "Long Gone". "Down On The Corner" and "You Are the Magic" mine the "Wonderwall" vibe, but "Something To Shout About" has a more melodic riff and contemplative vibe of The Verve. Foreboding dissonont "Headland" makes it point quickly, but is the most unexpected direction, and also the shortest track at 1:37. As none of the songs venture beyond a two-chord verse-chorus, pushing close to 5 minutes on every song might be about 1:30 too much. Though all are well-executed, none ventures beyond sounds covered by someone else with better singers.
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