Personally I blame the parents.
If they are negligent enough to leave old rock and prog albums where impressionable children can find them, then they have to take responsibility for the distressing consequences.
Take the case of five young lads from Port Angeles, Washington. They have not yet reached 18 but all the signs are that an excessive exposure to '70s vinyl has already done irreparable damage.
Not only have they grown their hair long but they have begun making the sort of bombastic noise Queen might have made if they'd fallen into a time tunnel and emerged on stage at the Woodstock Festival.
The full repertoire of the band can be heard on 'Drought', the longest of the 11 tracks on this their second album. This clocks in at just over 8 minutes and covers all the bases of a mini rock epic. The piano led ballad intro leads into perfunctory guitar solos and obligatory climatic yells. But far from evoking heavyweights like Led Zeppelin, the overriding impression is simply of a more electric and hairier version of High School Musical.      Â
I don't doubt their sincerity for a minute but capturing the sound of a bygone era is not enough, something new needs to be added, otherwise all you have is a kind of stoner version of 'stars in their eyes'.
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The counter cultural rage is notable by its absence. The title track is as close as they get to showing a rebellious spirit: "You like your hair short, I like my hair long, I don't see the problem, what's so wrong". (If you hadn't guessed by now, hair is the record's recurring theme, as signaled by the cover art where their flowing locks blend seamlessly into the branches of a tree).
At no point do they let rip to explore anything but tried and tested formula. So although Mark Fredson undoubtedly has a good set of lungs , the album has neither the ragged appeal of a garage band or the unwashed danger of greebo rockers. Only a few of the shorter, snappier numbers like 'The Meal' or 'For Barbara' give any hope of salvation.  Â
So what's the antidote. I'd recommend locking them in a room with the first three Stooges albums for a couple of days and if that fails to effect a cure then all hope is truly lost.
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