The not-quite-a-genre-but-might-as-well-be "mall punk" is pretty well codified at this point, at least in American terms. It's a glossed-up and friendly enough version of the kind of bar band music that many groups purveyed in past decades, except instead of the Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan as touchstones it's Green Day circa Dookie and maybe an Offspring or Pennywise CD here and there. There are just enough AOR moves to allow for a big sound on the radio (or the streaming Internet station), and everything's rough ...
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The not-quite-a-genre-but-might-as-well-be "mall punk" is pretty well codified at this point, at least in American terms. It's a glossed-up and friendly enough version of the kind of bar band music that many groups purveyed in past decades, except instead of the Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan as touchstones it's Green Day circa Dookie and maybe an Offspring or Pennywise CD here and there. There are just enough AOR moves to allow for a big sound on the radio (or the streaming Internet station), and everything's rough and ready on the one hand and polished to a fine sheen on the other. And that, ultimately, is about it: Minutes Too Far is a quartet from Oklahoma that has done all the right things and made all the right moves to get its own particular place in a niche. The band's producer worked with both Green Day and Santana (and as mixer with the Descendents and All, for a little extra punk rock credit), they've appeared on Warped Tour, they're on Doghouse Records, and they've got the obligatory presence on both MySpace and purevolume.com. And what they do with that on Let It Roll is, essentially, nothing. The album has its moments, of course -- any band worth its salt in this arena knows that the answer to attention lies in large part with heroic choruses, a little dramatic tension in the arrangement here and there, and a warm-enough-sounding singer fronting the band. "Seems Like," the album's second song, delivers all these in spades quite competently, down to the dying burn of feedback at the end. But there's nothing here -- zip, zilch, nada -- that is remarkably new, remarkably interesting, remarkably anything. It is, simply, what it is, no more and no less. Is that enough? They may never have wanted to be a truly deathless band, but Minutes Too Far really need to think whether they want to make any mark at all, or are content to simply redo the past without variation. There is nothing wrong with ambition. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi
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Add this copy of Let It Roll to cart. $10.00, very good condition, Sold by Music Fiendz rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from South Hackensack, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Band (B&).