DEFAUILT tHe raLLouwt

Default The Fallout 2001 Universal

Default is a riff-driven rock band from Vancouver. They formed under the name The Fallout, and were originally produced by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger. “The Fallout” made their break on the Vancouver Seeds 2000 com- pilation in... 2000. Even as this CD was being shipped off to the manufacturers, “The Fallout” became Default. Their first independent album, The Fallout, sold over 2000 copies, which led to their sign- ing with TVT Records. Their

Queen Street West The Rebel Zone 2001 Sony

At first glance, the CD case struck me as drab and boring, however, once | popped the cd into my player, | was pleasant-

_ly surprised.

The CD is soundtrack to Queen Street West—The Rebel Zone, a movie which documents the development of the underground music scene in Toronto from 1975 to 1985. The time was one of musical rebellion against polit- ical, social, and music genres of the day. The first major influence began with the old

Phantom Planet Live 2001 Sony

Phantom Planet’s latest release, Live, is a five track album that includes two tracks from their upcoming album, The Guest, as well as three tracks that were recorded live at The Troubador, in West Hollywood. All the tracks are catchy, make-you-want-to- sing-along tunes that are sure to be hits. With a sound some- thing like “Wide Mouth Mason does Brit Pop,” coupled with somewhat dark lyrics, Phantom Planet’s latest

major label album, also titled The Fallout, is a combination of nifty guitar riffs and formula- ic song-writing that walks the fine line between being main- stream and being repetitive. Every song follows the same basic pattern, which could potentially make their album sound like an exercise in cloning. Despite this, | found myself enjoying the album, mostly for the cool guitar junk sprinkled throughout every song. Yay for guitar junk! Vocalist Dallas Smith fits the music’s sound very well, and as for the bass and drums... well... they know how to play their instruments, and they are

school punk sound of The Diodes. Shortly after, numer- ous other bands sprung up, featuring the sounds of punk, synth pop and_ reggae. Eventually, the scene was to produce the likes of Martha & The Muffins and their hit Echo Beach, Jane Siberry, and the Parachute Club with Rise Up that went Top 10 in many places around the world.

The CD covers a wide vari- ety of sounds, but a few tracks border upon irritating. However, it does an excellent job of exposing the listener to sounds that aren’t produced any more, and there are also quite a few tracks that are

release was quite entertain- ing. There is the sin-along appeal of Lonely Day, the high-energy Nobody’s Fault, and the somewhat darker Shadows. Also included on the album is California, the first single off their upcoming release, The Guest. This track is also featured on the Orange County soundtrack. This is some decent alternative music that has some _ interesting ideas in the lyrical content of the album. The only thing is, since the album is only avail- able at Phantom Planet’s con- certs, and since they are only touring in the US, it could be a

obviously playing the same song as everybody else, so they fit the band just fine. | would recommend Default’s The Fallout to anyone who wants a regular rock and roll CD without much experimen- tal content. The final say: this CD gets several stars out of some higher number of stars. —Josh

seriously good. The Rebel Zone will make a nice addition to my collection and | would recommend it to anyone who likes to listen to a variety of musical genres.

—Mark

little difficult to get in Prince George. | would recommend waiting until The Guest hits stores in February.

—Dana