Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

The British rock band, Switches first US-released album, Lay Down the Law is a mix of songs about love, being needed, and karma all performed in an alternative rock and roll style.  Switches is made up Matt Bishop, Ollie Thomas, Thom Kirkpatrick, and Steve Godfrey who all met up while in college in Surrey.  Their music is thoughtful and their sound is solid.

Two tracks from the album that sound like instant radio hits are Drama Queen and Lay Down the Law.  These tracks have memorable hooks and danceable steady beats with rocking guitar chords. These two songs talk about seductive women and the boys that chase them.  I could see these songs easily becoming hits.

The track Stepkids in Love is a slower song detailing the likes of a boy infatuated with his fleeing step sister.  Sick? A little, but it’s still a great song. The best way to describe the melody of this track is dangerous with the back up vocals chanting, “Ah-ha-ha-ha Ah-ha-ha-ha, Step kids in love!” Makes you almost wish you had a secret lover that you called “sis”... Well, almost. 

Switches prides themselves in their throwback to 80’s rock and roll and cites many 80’s & 90’s musicians as influential to their music.  I would compare Switches’ sound with The Killers with a hint of Better Than Ezra but that’s really only in certain tracks like Killer Karma, in general this band has a relatively original sound.  Lay Down the Law is alternative rock album that’s worth picking up and Switches is a band that I’m hoping to see a lot more from in the future.