The contents of
One Lone Car's debut album almost completely deny the title,
Variety Hour. For one thing, the disc runs little more than half an hour, barely enough to be considered a full-length album. For another, there is precious little variety in the music.
One Lone Car come on like an opening act that has a short time to make an impression on its audience, and the band goes all out to do so. This is guitar rock that falls in between two '90s influences, not too close to the pop-punk of
Green Day on the hard side, not far from the jangle pop of
Gin Blossoms on the soft. In any case, it is music in a hurry. Singing of that inexhaustible subject, girl trouble, the musicians play at breakneck speed as if they can't wait for a slow song, until, that is, the final track, "The City," which begins as a piano ballad before giving way to the familiar guitars after a couple of minutes.
One Lone Car play frisky, high-energy pop/rock on a debut that should earn them attention. ~ William Ruhlmann