Meantoad

There's plenty here: '70s AM gold, big band, new wave, piano ballad, funk. But in forty minutes of run time, nothing especially coherent emerges. The album feels a lot like a room full of shouting people. The standout tracks, by a mile, are a pair of covers for which Meantoad almost certainly didn't get clearance: "Gun Street Girl," by Tom Waits, and "Summertime," from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Meantoad comprises serviceable enough musicians, but it doesn't have a songwriter capable of much more than hackneyed melodies and awkward transitions. If what you're looking for is a night of anonymous booze-fueled rawking, then Meantoad is more than capable of getting the job done. But if you want something you won't forget the second it's over, you might want to hold off for now and see if it comes together on the next album.