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The third album from this Toronto-based quartet may rely heavily on classic rock idioms (y'know, verses, choruses, bridges, middle-eights and frequent guitar solos), but does so with a welcome injection of humour that prevents musical dexterity from meaning 'unimaginative.' No â?? from the pop-funk hybrid of opener The Lights Turn On, with its Jellyfish-esque dynamics, to the outrageously offensive twenty-minute uncredited 'jam' that rounds things off in, uh, style â?? 'This Is It Here We Go' marries old-school virtuosity (Frampton would be proud of Pass It To You) with the shared lead vocal antics of fellow Canadians Sloan and US neighbours Signalmen and Warm Wires. A dash of faux-soul enlivens Spilling Mistake (sic), some Jason Falkner 'heavy riffage' is offset by a falsetto vocal on album highlight At Least You Got The Cake and, on The Firey Wall, a June & The Exit Wounds-smooth pop confection mixes with devilishly humorous lyrics. Good fun.

Matt Dornan
CWAS #11 - Autumn 2002

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