Before they invented the genre-term Emo--such music was referred to as "power pop" and before they invented that category such music was simply referred to as rock and roll. I recently attended a live show of these Chicago-natives (late of the much vaunted Emo outfit Braid) and had myself a good-ole time. As far as I was concerned. I was enjoying a rock and roll concert. The boys were jumping all over the joint and giving the songs on this album a good bit more of a rocking edge than comes across on the recording.

Loses Control loses a few style points simply because it isn't produced with lost control as itÕs goal. A lot of it's pretty tidy, which kind of waters down what could have been a far more rollicking good record. Still, frontman and prime mover, Bob Nanna is a talented songwriter and this album is far from uninspired. As I watched them live, I noticed that many of his melodic tendencies mirrored Hot Hot Heat, which of course means that they also remind of early Cure. There's a lot of that kind of playfulness, and the album could well have earned higher marks had not the production made every song sound just like the last one. Watch out for these guys though--I like them.