Rose Hill Drive – Moon is the New Earth (CD)

The first track on “Moon is the New Earth” is “Sneak Out”, and the overall sound of the band sounds like a mix of The Vines and Queens of the Stone Age. The act is able to throw in intense guitars and draw them back masterfully for the vocals to reach prominence at all of the right times. “Sneak Out” continues to plug at the same points throughout the entirety of the track, but it is really the guitar that keeps the track from becoming stale. The band is thus able to move into “Altar Junkie”, which is a track that continues providing listeners of Rose Hill Drive with a contemporary type of sound, blending the aforementioned Queens of the Stone Age influence with a little bit of CKY.

The one thing that distinguishes Rose Hill Drive from each of these acts is an appreciation for classic rock, which brings a little bit of a Pink Floyd influence to “Moon is the New Earth”. This classic rock influence comes to dominance during “Laughing In The Streets”. While each of the songs vary in terms of overall sound and influences tapped, the one common thread that listeners will be able to hear during “Moon is the New Earth” would have to be the radio friendly approach that Rose Hill Drive takes. This means that any one of the twelve cuts on this disc could conceivably make it to rock rotation radio, and I have a feeling that the act will do just that in the months to come. OF all of the tracks on the disc, the track that has the best opportunity of doing just that would be “Trans Am”. The track has a catchy type of chorus, while the band continues to have the same harder edge that has permeated a number of tracks previous to that point.

The combination of the two styles makes a song that will drive its way into listeners’ heads and idle there for a while before finally driving off into the sunset. An angular approach to rock, linking the act to Franz Ferdinand and Foo Fighters, is what is common during “A Better Way”. Even when the band takes up a path that has been tread pretty bare, they are able to appropriate the genre for their own use and make it into their own. “Moon is the New Earth” is a solid rock disc, of a quality that is simply rare to see in a period of rock that is bereft of anything impressive.

Top Tracks: Godfather, One Night Stand

Rating: 7.0/10

Rose Hill Drive – Moon is the New Earth / 2008 Megaforce / http://www.rosehilldrive.com / http://www.megaforcerecords.com /