Wallpaper
begin and end their debut album
On the Chewing Gum Ground
with songs that cite the sacred institution of
rock & roll
in their titles, and these guys are clearly musical purists in their own way -- while the rhythms are just a bit fractured and the melodies often skeletal, they embrace the classic Power Trio format of guitar/bass/drums with the fervor of true believers, and
Derek Kelley
's lead vocals show a degree of swagger and snazz that would generally only appear on a
K Records
release in ironic form. But if
are playing
that's been stripped to the frame and given a slightly uncertain pulse in spots, it's still
, and what's most winning about
is that
are clearly and unashamedly in love with the stuff.
, his brother
Spencer Kelley
and their pal
Steven Potter
trade off between instruments throughout the album while some friends add keyboard and percussion accents on a few tunes (most notably on the pseudo-
glam
number
"Vertigo Jane"
), and the performances are hooky, primal, and enthusiastic, with a surprisingly solid backbone on the best numbers and a real
rock
drive on all 14 cuts. This isn't
punk
in the traditional ranting and roaring sense, but
do manage to sound like a trio of enlightened amateurs who are determined to save
pop
-centric
from the likes of
My Chemical Romance
and
Fall Out Boy
, and
is a winning salvo from three guys clearly aligned with The Good Guys. Points added for some of the most imaginative lyric pages in recent memory (even if they're a little hard to read). ~ Mark Deming