Wake Up Call

Coming from the Goo Goo Dolls school of songwriting, Red September picks up where the Dolls left off in 1996. They craft catchy, hungry pop songs that are drenched in punk attitude and guitar lifted straight from Hüsker Dü. "Graffiti" and "WWW" lead off the album with a healthy dose of fast-paced guitar rock. These two songs will instantly draw in or repel potential fans; they are not ashamed of their pop tendencies and freely give in to the hooks instead of concentrating on the harsh guitars. From that point forward, they jump from mid-tempo pop rockers to fiery post-punk anthems. Peter Schorn has the perfect voice for this, sounding all the world like Grant Hart on Hüsker Dü's New Day Rising with a little of Johnny Rzeznik's Hold Me Up-era croon. Bands like this do have it rough, because the comparisons to these two bands are inevitable. Often bands like this are also compared to the Replacements, but Schorn lacks Paul Westerberg's lyrical skills and reckless playing style. But Red September is no rip-off, despite the similarity to these artists. This band actually has a strong collection of songs, and they stick to the listener's brain quite easily. The only real problem is their lyrics. A great example of this is "Killjoy," the infectious first single. The chorus is extremely easy to remember; unfortunately, it also contains some very simple and generic lyrics that undermine the anti-censorship message. This is not something that happens from song to song, but it happens often enough to be a deterrent. Still, fans of any of the above-mentioned groups should give this a listen. There is a lot of quality music to be found here.