| Look at who Cinder Road has toured with recently and you’ll
get a good idea of where they fit in today’s rock music
landscape: Daughtry, the band led by former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, and ‘90s rockers Candlebox.
The Maryland-based band, formerly known as Plunge, now named
for the street the founding members grew up on, fills Superhuman with 11 helpings of inoffensive, radio-ready melodic rock.
I can envision any one of these songs burning up the airwaves
or making a lengthy visit to VH1’s top 20 countdown.
The entire album has a slick, polished feel due largely, no
doubt, to industry veteran Marti Frederiksen (best known as
the co-writer of many of Aerosmith’s hits during the
1990s). Frederiksen produced the album and co-wrote all 11
songs with frontman Mike Ruocco. Ruocco also plays guitar,
as do Pat Patrick (I sincerely hope the first name is a nickname;
otherwise, his parents are incredibly cruel people) and Chris
Shucosky. That’s right—three guitars. So you’d
think they’d rock a little harder. They raise the decibel
level on the Southern-flavored “Get In Get Out,”
which shows these guys have only scratched the surface of
their potential. Nothing else here comes close to matching
the power of this song. My advice for the next album? More
songs like “Get In Get Out” and fewer sappy songs
that sound like Goo Goo Dolls outtakes. |
