What do you get if you cross The Killers with Squad Five-0?  The answer is not a shortage of eyeliner in your town.  It’s the newest addition in the chase to sound like the Cure, the Lashes.  I had never heard of this band when they showed up in my mailbox but it was a great surprise.  I haven’t gotten too deep into the new new-wave explosion that’s been happening, so this album was a nice change of pace for me.  The real problem is that there are a ton of these types of bands on the scene right now and each one is being hailed as the “next big thing”.  The reality is that once a band has hit it big, those who come behind them can never be seen as quite as successful or original. 

The album is chock full of the boy meets girl, boy loves girl, boy sets in the non-smoking section for the girl (seriously, it’s in there) type of lyrical content. 

At any rate, these guys know who their audience is and have no problem singing right to their faces.  They mix some nice organ tones with the typical rock drums, bass, and synth.  I have to say that the guitar playing on this album is probably a little ahead of some of their similar peers and more along the lines of Jet more than anyone else. 

The biggest problem here is that the album is not that different than anything we’ve heard in the last two years.  Nothing really makes them stand out from the other bands of the genre.  I still like it but it’s nothing that’s going to win any creativity awards.  Its biggest redeeming quality is that it’s just plain fun.  So if you happen to like fun, new wave throwback bands singing about love and loss then check out the Lashes.  If you were looking for something a bit deeper, I’d look elsewhere.