Album Review: The New Roses - Nothing But Wild

Some bands are rather forgettable. That's not supposed to sound mean, but I get that it might. What is it, however, is the truth. There is only so much room in our heads for music to be stored, and not everything can get a slot, especially if we listen to a lot of albums. Some bands get lost in the fog, and it's not always their fault. The New Roses are a good band. I've listened to, and written about, their last two albums, and while I thought they were both solid rock records, I also recall very little of them. Sometimes good isn't good enough to cut through, and if I'm not going to try to commit every good record to memory (which would take all of my time and energy to do), certain bands are going to always be struggling for my attention.

The other thing working against the band is the first time I heard them, and their name, the immediate thought I had was that they sounded like a more mainstream-seeking Guns N Roses. And now that the original band is back, and there is at least a rumbling of them making new music at some point, a band that reminds me of them holds less appeal than they would have before (not that I'm a big Guns fan).

The second track on the record tells us you "Can't Stop Rock & Roll", and that's absolutely true. There will always be a need for rock attitude, and bars are always going to need a soundtrack for Friday night. Even if that song didn't specifically talk about drinking, it would still fit that bill. It's got enough of those Guns/Bon Jovi hints to be a perfect foil for moderately buzzed people to forget what decade it is, and think for a few moments they're young and virile. That's why we consider guitars phallic, isn't it?

That track gets followed by the first single, the catchy and fun "Down By The River". It's a great song, but it too is preoccupied with grabbing a cooler of beer and drinking while supposedly having fun. I'll just put this out here, and I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me; if you need to be drinking and changing your brain chemistry to enjoy where you are and what you're doing, it isn't fun. Rock's constant need to embrace drunkenness and partying is a drawback, as far as I'm concerned. Putting the thought in my head I need to be drunk to be on your wavelength is a dangerous connection to make. You're subconsciously telling me your music can't be enjoyed sober, which is far from an indication of quality.

Other than implying their own alcoholism, The New Roses deliver an album of rock songs that are solidly melodic, quite enjoyable. But to be fair, I said the same thing about the last two records as well. The issue is that while these are good songs I find myself tapping my foot along with, I don't hear anything in them that I feel is going to stay with me. That's a very nebulous quality, and it's one I can't exactly explain, but there isn't a melody so memorable, or a quirk to their sound so unique, as to stand out from everyone else.

There's nothing wrong with being a good band. We need good bands to flesh out the scene. There certainly aren't enough great bands to satisfy people like me, and the scales are already far too tipped towards music I find nearly intolerable. Bands like The New Roses give us a quality option when our imaginations aren't being captured by anything in particular at a moment in time. "Nothing But Wild" isn't going to be one of the best records of the year, but it's one we can sit back and enjoy, while laughing at all the records that never should have been released.