It's a bit hard to categorize "Virginia Dare," whether to call them alt-folk, or country-punk. The band's sound starts with vocalist/songwriter/autoharpist Mary O'Neil, who, along with husband and guitarist Brad Johnson, lay out the band's melodic aspects. Completing the line-up is bassist Greg Freeman, who stepped out of his sound engineer's role when the band's original bassist split half way through the recording of their first project.

Freeman should have stayed in his soundproof booth. "Virginia Dare" is a prime example of a band where the whole definitely does not live up to the sum of its parts. Individually speaking, Freeman lays out a basic plodding bassline which might be an appropriate background for the mostly folksy sound of the band, but never offers anything to get excited about. Mary O'Neil has a decent enough voice, which is showcased nicely on a few songs, but she too often allows a plaintive, almost whiny note to creep into her vocals. Again, while often appropriate for the subject matter she's singing about, it sometimes crosses over into an annoying territory.

The main nuisance, however, is guitarist Brad Johnson's bendy, twangy, deliberately pitch-shifting guitar work. Used sparingly, a few twisted notes are fine on any record. Used on nearly every song, on every other note in some cases, what at first was an interesting style, quickly becomes annoying to the point of distraction. At restrained moments, Johnson's guitar lines are a bit reminiscent of the band Acetone. At other times, it's cause for hitting the "skip track" button as quickly as possible.

In spite of these shortcoming, there are a few bright spots on "Baby Got Away," the band's first full length disc. Lyrically, O'Neil writes with a personal touch, telling stories about everyday things like doing laundry, or unrequited crushes on Hollywood actors, as in the song, "Johnny Depp."

Musically, "Virginia Dare's" best moments are in the realm of the familiar. "Camellia" has a bassline that sounds like it was adapted from a Nirvana song, while on "Revolt of Mother," Johnson appropriated his main riff almost note for note from the main melody of the old song "On Broadway." The best song on "Baby Got Away" is a track called "Fred's Trees," which features "Virginia Dare" in its punkiest form.

The good notes, however, are too few and far between, leaving in its wake an aggravating, nearly unlistenable album.