Australia, the land that brought us The Vines offer up their latest export The Androids. With a penchant for pop hooks and gruffy guitars some will take them as a distant cousin to the Vines but this band isn’t about to dethrone The Vines, the two groups can happily co-exist. 

You can put many labels on The Androids but they are basically a power-pop group and they excel at both power and pop. Sometimes landing too far into the pop category and coming across a bit too sugary like with the single “Here She Comes”. Put that song, that is geared straight toward Top 40 radio, aside and most of the other songs here offer up more of a rock focus that should appeal to some more serious rock fans. 

The album starts strong with “Hey You!,” an addictive melodic raw rocker. It’s not brain surgery but the charm of the song comes from its simplicity with a shout along chorus and it sets the perfect tone for the album. 

The second track “Cynical” is just a bit heavier with a groove similar to The Exies. The selling point for this song is the lead guitars, which are a perfect mix of 70’s era rock meets Y2K technique and power-chord sludge. 

“Brand New Life” is textbook power-pop with a mournful guitar lead. “Do It With Madonna” is the track that has helped create the buzz for this group. It’s a fun and frivolous track that playfully exhorts the virtues of Madonna over today’s teen pop divas.  It’s got a cool hook and a little of a Brit rock treatment to the vocals. 

The next track “She’s An Alien” again showcases an interesting guitar lead. This isn’t Eddie Van Halen, but it’s the lead guitar that sets The Androids apart. The songwriting is most focused on hooks and melody but an occasional guitar riff really stands out and gives the songs a distinctive edge. 

“Bored” is an upbeat guitar rocker and “Wannabe” is one of the most original sounding tracks here. While the basic framework is familiar the band throws the song into different directions in the chorus and bridge. 

Like the Exies album it’s the ballad that is the true standout track on this album. In the case of The Androids it’s a track called “Let Me Down” that has a nice build up during the choruses and some interesting ambient instrumentation thrown in against the standard guitar tracks,but in the end while this is a strong track it doesn’t come close to topping The Exies “Creeper Kamikaze”. Nonetheless, it’s a great song and a strong selling point for this CD. 

“Take It Too Far” is another strong track with a nice melody and rich harmonies.  The delve farther into the rock fold with “Pull Me Apart” with heavier guitars and punk tinged vocals.  The song is delivered with a pop flair and I found myself wanting them to break out of the powerpop restraints and totally rock out but they never quite get there. 

They close the album with the closest track they have to land in the “raw rock revival” camp but it has a more experimental feel with sliding guitar riffs and multi-layered vocals. This track stands out as probably the only one written without radio airplay in mind. 

 This is a good first effort for a band that was together for less than a year before landing their deal. With the band’s focus on powerpop, It’s got mainstream written all over it. So this album should appeal to fans of mainstream melodic pop rock. But others may find that The Androids play a bit too safe and never breakout of the mold. Then again the guitar leads, while not mind-blowing and rather simplistic, add a nice touch and give this album the distinction it needs.   The Androids don’t break any new ground but instead deliver a fun and comfortable power pop album that should sit well with the masses and the all important mainstream radio programmers. 

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