In a time dominated by hit singles and manufactured artists, it is refreshing to hear a band with a mainstream sound try to do something more. 10 Years’ debut, The Autumn Effect, is by no means a masterpiece – the barrage of one mid-tempo song after another makes it hard to get through in one sitting – but they are a band with something meaningful to say. The lyrical content, a handful of moody instrumental passages and a nine-and-a-half-minute title track indicate they have more on their minds than getting played on the radio.

Singer Jesse Hasek covers a variety of topics. According to the official band biography, “Empires” is about our societal addiction to material possessions. “Prey” was inspired by people in Los Angeles driving cars worth more than many of the houses in the band’s Tennessee hometown. The softer “Seasons to Cycles” deals with the figurative walls we build around ourselves. The band’s video for the hit single “Wasteland” was created in cooperation with Amnesty International to cast an eye on violence and torment all over the world.

Due to the band’s social conscience and the similarity of Hasek’s voice to that of Maynard James Keenan, 10 Years instantly brings to mind A Perfect Circle. There is also a hint of Staind, which may come from producer Josh Abraham, who has worked with them in the past. The album suffers from a lack of musical variety. Taken individually, each song is solid. As a whole, the disc slides into monotony. The pace picks up on “Half Life” and “Empires,” which are, not coincidentally, the two strongest tracks.

The Autumn Effect is not a bad album. It is flawed, to be sure, but it shows potential if 10 Years decides to explore more musical terrain in the future.