Maiden Voyage Shipwreck

hat is it with the British? Their music press seems to have a knack for spotting American talent even before we do, hyping them up until we Yanks sit up and pay attention to the good stuff we got going (e.g. The Strokes, The White Stripes).

Unfortunately, their divining powers don't seem to work on their own artists. Even though acoustic rockers Starsailor were named Britain's best new band way back in April by the influential Britsh mag NME, they still haven't gotten much play here in the U.S. Then again, maybe talent does have something to do with it.

Starsailor's debut album, Love Is Here, is a promising start, but it falls short of spectacular in just about every category. It is the kind of album that could manage to stand on its own hyped-up legs if only it had some substance to grab on to. But simple-minded lyrics, mediocre melodies and guitar riffs your grandma could write do not a great album make. The best thing about Love is Here is the lilting piano melodies that come out on songs like "Lullaby" and "Alcoholic." But although they redeem a few tracks, they can't carry the majority of the songs beyond the lame to that mystical realm of memorable music. Lead singer James Walsh has some impressive pipes, but his voice has a way of breaking at all the wrong times, like he's wailing out of false desperation. Coupled with the album's overriding acoustic feel, it just doesn't sound right. Think The Verve, Unplugged. Think Foghat, without the sense of nostalgia that makes imitating Robert Plant seem cool. Think boring.

And call me picky, but is it not the mark of mediocrity when almost half of the song titles on a band's debut album can be found within the first line of lyrics? The lyric sheet reads like an anthology of poems submitted to Sassy. Maybe they're just no good at titles. Or maybe they're just no good at lyrics.

Lyrically, melodically and summarily, Love Is Here doesn't hold up to the hype. You're better off waiting for another semi-obscure American band to get noticed by the British press and claiming you loved them all along than bother your head with these lads.