The debut from The Orbans is a perfect cure for you if you’ve been suffering from alt. country and pop withdrawal. Try to imagine of Ryan Adams and Wilco teaming up with Coldplay and jamming out. “New Dress” is a distinct pop opener with strong guitar riff and marching chorus. Following this is the awesome “Songs We Sing” with dance hall piano tinkle, ripping guitar solo and pure pop bliss in the melody. Lead guitarist Kenny Wayne’s hook filled riffs are a huge asset atop each song, and slowly the tenor of the album gets more countrified by the fourth track, “Don’t Lose Yourself.”
The band also has a knack for rich three-part harmonies on “Barely Someone’s Known” and the soft ballads (“Darlin’ My Dreams” and “Go”) are both poignant and well written. The twang gets heavy on “When We Were Wild” — I felt like Duane Eddy was playing here. The composition on “Alibi” is another power pop classic, and Peter Black’s vocals give each track the perfect balance between alternative and country sounds. The songs throughout the album are consistently great, as no single track dominates and that makes for great repeat listens. One of the best debuts this year, it earns a top ten nod.
