On paper,
Bond's debut album Bang Out of Order makes a lot of sense -- pair a quartet of professional Brit-pop musicians with the producer behind No Doubt's success (
Matthew Wilder) and the man who mixed Nevermind (
Andy Wallace), and you'll have a surefire hit combining the witty lyricism, dance sensibility and huge hooks of Brit-pop with the harder-edged guitars of American alterna-pop. It doesn't work quite as well in theory. There are certainly a number of appealingly melodic cuts on Bang Out of Order, but the sound and playing are too slick for any of the cuts to really stick. The best moments on the record indicate that, with a little bit of grit and less polish, the group has the potential to become a cracking pop/rock band, but this debut is a little too faceless to make a lasting impression.