Everything You Want

If you put the American Dream to music, this is what it would sound like. College bands from the US are abundant and in the light of such successes as Matchbox 20 and Semisonic there were always going to be those who would try to follow. Vertical Horizon, of which we speak, are the latest

A standard 4-piece, they're based around acoustic guitar and harmony vocals a la Picturehouse. Which, to be honest, is no big whoop. The 'Big Whoop' comes with the surprise revelation that they are, indeed, not drivel.

Well, not complete drivel anyway. The rhythm is a tad repetitious and yes, those cheesy two-part harmonies do become rather annoying, but their charming melodies and well-crafted structures are probably enough to propel them into the spotlight for a brief spell.

The title track, 'Everything You Want', is one of those infectious tunes that sneaks in and pastes itself to your brain for a few days. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. It has an extremely charming melody and despite the vast excess of digital delay effects, is actually quite a good song.

Another ear catcher is the first track, 'We Are'. A heavily produced number with plenty of guitar, it manages to latch onto a certain amount of rock without removing itself too far from the tone of the album.

Unfortunately, you only really need to hear three songs before you've heard the whole thing: acoustic ballad, acoustic up-tempo and up-tempo electric with too much delay.

Vertical Horizon are a band in transition. Cautious of leaping to the more guitar-driven side of rock, they find themselves placed precariously on the ledge between that and the soft, padded interior of acoustic ballads. Which makes for a Jelly Tots kind of album.

So I like it.