The White Tie Affair

The White Tie Affair has all the ingredients for future stardom. Five bandmembers whose looks range from hunky to good-enough-if-he's-just-a-friend? Check. Songs like "Candle (Sick and Tired)" and "If I Fall," whose hooks sound as if they've been polished by a factory's worth of chamois-wielding minimum-wagers? Check. A deal with a major label (Columbia) that's powerful enough to guarantee placement on The Hills? Check. So why aren't Chris Wallace and his pals sharing magazine covers with Pete Wentz? Perhaps there's such a glut of groups making the same kind of slick modern rock that the quota's currently full. But Columbia isn't giving up yet. The band's headlining stint, which finds it sharing the Marquis stage with Rookie of the Year, The Lives of Famous Men and Chain Gang of 1974, will be followed by a jaunt with Lady GaGa and a Warped Tour slot. And if these guys aren't famous after that? Then the Affair might be over.