Sound: An unlikely and hard-to-pinpoint mix of radio-ready rock sounds from the last 25 years. The monstrous, sing-along choruses, chugging riffs, guitar solos and occasional power-ballad crescendo take you back to the heyday of 80s pop metal. But the angsty vibrato in the vocals bites a little harder, like the nu-metal of the late 90s/early 00s. Then they throw in some soaring synth rock and glammy bravado reminiscent of The Killers, and even dabble with the dark, warbly tones of Interpol. Oh yeah, and they’ve got lots of polished, three-part harmonies.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “On The Way”; “Lost My Car”
Medium Rotation tracks: “The Other Side”; “Get Over Me”; “Hey, Hey (I Don’t Care)”
Explicit Lyrics*: none
Recommended: Though there’s a familiarity to most of the sounds on External Affairs, the fact that they straddle a couple genres and eras grabs your attention. Ligion’s meaty hooks and arena-ready sound reveals the possibilities of a revitalized direction for hard-hitting, mainstream-friendly rock.
Grade: B+
* Noting of explicit lyrics is for the benefit of radio music directors or anyone else that needs/wants to keep their music FCC-friendly.
I agree, Ligion debut release is the best pure rock album I have heard in a very long time. In an era of slick, over-produced, so-called rock bands and one-hit wonders, I had all but given up on my rock-n-roll roots. Ligion’s External Affairs has quickly become one of my favorite CD’s, they definitely rock.