Loveless
'Gift to the World'
On Q Division Records
Grade: B+Loveless, consisting of members Dave Wanamaker (lead vocals and guitar), Jen Trynin (vocals and guitar), Peter Armata (bass) and Tom Polce (drums), will release its debut album, "Gift to the World," on Nov. 11. What can be expected from this fledgling band? The songs are solid, the lyrics are good and the instrumentals have a head-bopping beat.

The band was formed when Wanamaker,previously the lead guitarist for the hard rock band Expanding Man, and former bandmate Armata teamed up with Polce and Trynin, a solo artist formerly on the Warner Brothers label. The band, based out of Boston, is a refreshing addition to the local talent. Each band member has his or her own past experience to add to the sound of Loveless, which is promising. The critics' description of Loveless' sound as American guitar rock and Britpop is accurate. They have a bit of that poppy, happy sound that is associated with Britpop, but their sound definitely has an edge containing much harder guitar than you would normally find in Britpop.

At first listen, Loveless does not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Its sound is not exactly new and the songs sound vaguely familiar. However, it has its positive aspects. Wanamaker and Trynin are great on the guitar and their music grows on you. With repeated listening I began to like it more and more.

Most of the lyrics are also about a familiar topic - love. Despite the cliche, the lyrics are not boring and they have a unique edge. In some songs, for example in "Cold," you can practically hear the pain.
The first two songs on the album, "Go" and "Gift to the World," are fast-paced with a harder edge to them. If you like the Foo Fighters, you will probably enjoy these songs because they are reminiscent of that band's style. Just like the Foo Fighters' songs, the tracks begin with a build up of instrumental throughout the whole song and then an explosion and screaming at the end.

The next three songs, "You Wore Me Out," "Beautiful" and "Cold," are much more mellow. In these songs, you can almost hear Wanamaker's sense of longing for whomever he is writing about and how he wants her back.

"You Wore Me Out" is the transition from the first two songs on the album to the next two, because while it is not as hard as the first two songs, it is still a little more upbeat than the melancholy sound of "Beautiful" and "Cold."

The next set of three songs, "Stick to the Girl," "This Is A Way" and "Darling Would You," have a psychedelic feel. Wanamaker's voice, which always has a bit of a haunting quality, gets much more mysterious. Trynin's backup vocals - also a little bit haunting - sound even more ghostlike in this set of songs. While these songs are mellow, they have a little kick to them and a bit of the psychedelic, spacey guitar sound.

The last two songs "Suicide Machines" and "She Could Be Something Good" pick up the pace again and get more edgy but also have more of a catchy beat. The last song, "She Could Be Something Good," has more of an acoustic sound to it. While not completely acoustic, it is reminiscent of recent acoustic artists with temporary back-up bands. It sounds a little like John Mayer, only better, and it is an appropriate final track for the album.

Overall, Loveless' release is a very solid and promising debut album. There is a lot of hype around this album in the music world, and more good things are expected to come from them in the future. If you like rock, you'll like Loveless. Another great advantage to Loveless is that being from Boston, they play local venues. They have often played at the Lizard Lounge in Harvard Square, so if you are too impatient to wait for the CD to be released you can try to hear their music live. Be sure to watch out for this talented new band.