All eight of the wall-of-noise jaunts on The Revolt Against Tired Noises sound like classics. Borrowing from the underground elite (Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, Pavement and more) will do that for a band. But take the Stratford 4 at face value, and you can easily get lost in their effortless rock. Hazy trips and slacker hooks will suck you in if you let them. And once they’ve got your attention, their songwriting takes over. Mostly dreamy romantic fantasies, and a couple spiteful post-relationship accounts, the Stratford 4 has plenty of new, old things to talk about.

- Dave Powers
(As posted 11/4/01 on 3wk.com)