SHAZAM

Ripple, a Dayton, OH, college band founded by James Willoughby and Matt Bayman, released its eponymous debut album in 2002. It is pretty standard hard-edged, mainstream college rock with overtones of old school rap (as found on "One Glass"). The emphasis is on heavy, muddy guitar distortion, sometimes offset by quasi-psychedelic arpeggios and acoustic rhythm parts. The mash of influences doesn't necessarily gel into a coherent picture -- witness the Pink Floyd-ish "Driving to the Moon" versus the heavy-handed Faith No More-tinged rap-metal of "Order" and the '60s bouncy pop/rock of "Among the Fiction." No single track stands out above the pack, nor are there any singular disasters. Few surprises here, but the musicianship is competent. ~ Jim Esch, Rovi