OutReach

Frank Marchand is to be commended. He produced, engineered and mixed this CD, and in commercial terms, this release sounds ready for radio airplay. The guitars on "In Different Colors" kick like Bruce Lee, while Nick Cantalupo's vocal bursts forth much like Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl.

Much of the time, Cantalupo sounds angry and sad about lying lips of his beautiful one. During "In Different Colors" he sings: "That's why I wrote it in this goddamn song, this pen is filled with the blood from my heart." Obviously he's a guy in a lot of pain.

The album's title is taken from the track titled "Never" which has the chorus of, "Never will I ever again." The song comes off like highlights (or are they low lights?) from a lovers quarrel. And despite its strong negative statements, there is still slight hope hidden within. Cantalupo sings, "For the time that it takes to fix our mistakes it's now or never."

While most of this disc takes a sad tone, OutReach is at its best when the band puts its overt pain to a beat. "When We (Start Something New)" finds guitarist Dustin Leight chugging along nicely with pointed power chords, while drummer Mark Dodson drives the beat like he's running from the lawman. All the while, bassist Jim Matusky pounds out a beat like a slugger hitting a homerun.

OutReach has a sound that will likely appeal to radio programmers. I don't think it will appeal to nerdy, artistic rock fans. OutReach has learned to imitate its musical heroes well. - Indie-Music.com