File Under: Garage Rock rating: B- tracks 1. Capricorn 2. Ain't That Bad 3. American Pig 4. Come Back 5. Blue Eyes Woman 6. Summer's Gonna Be My Girl 7. Hardened Heart Blues 8. Games 9. You Can Rock & Roll 10. Hey Linda 11. Growd Up Wrong 12. He's Been Lying 13. I Got It related links The GO Lizard King Records

I cannot stress that lately the number of bands who show promise greatly outweigh the number of bands that are either not good or fantastic. Which is a good thing, yet most of these bands of promise do not live up to it, and move into the sound of the moment time and time again. With the Go's self titled album, this is something that immediately comes to mind: will they sacrifice their promise to sound more appealing?

From the first track "Capricorn" the influence of "classic" punk and heavy rock bands form the 70's can be heard, yet the distinctive new millennium feeling permeates throughout. They tread that line of influence and imitation finely, and strive to put a distinct sound to their music. The distortion increases as the tracks move on, specifically when "Blue Eyes Woman" moves into "Summer's Gonna Be My Girl;" it sounds as if it's a home demo, or had been recorded in 1977. Yet, it moves nicely, discreetly; "American Pig" relies more on a synth-sounding melody, which nicely complements the heavy chorus. Heavy rock guitar with great rock vocals defines the chorus, with slight harmony and high solos - it's a great little song, plain and simple.

Most of the Go's songs are more slowly paced, nothing fast and out of control. They rely heavily on fuzzy guitars and jaded chords, just thick and loud. Yet, the few tracks that show the maneuverability of sound, such as "American Pig" and "Growd Up Wrong," one of the two faster tracks on the album, give that image of promise.

Even the acoustic-flavored "Come Back" adds a little more variety to give a more rounded feel to the Go. This album, with its many variations on the distortion-laced heavy rocker has its diamonds in the sludge. The song after the end of "I Got It" sounds like a classic sixties pop/garage rock hit, definitely worth having listed.

Tom Fraher is a Contributing Writer. Contact him at tomf@rockzone.com.