Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

In their sophomore release, Ace Troubleshooter has come up with a decent, if formulaic, album. The opening track, "The Madness Of The Crowd," has a huge punk rock hook, full of fuzz guitar and bass and a speedy tempo, along with the required angst ridden lyrics that include, "Here I go against the grain/ It's time to yet again complain . . . Know that with each path we take/ We become the choices that we make." After hearing this song I was telling myself, "Hey, these guys are on a roll!" - until I heard the opening of song two with it's delicate acoustic and sweet vocal. That only lasts about 2 lines and then takes off with a medium paced pop/punk tune that's still pretty catchy.

"Have It All" is the first emo entry, which is so-so as songs go, but does showcase the vocal ability and range of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter John Warne. Here's where the formula comes in. The next song, "Amanda," is back to speedy angst punk and so it goes for the rest of the album. This band does a great job with the punk based songs and even the pop/punk isn't bad, but they could easily lose the emo stuff. Warne has a pleasant voice and carries a tune well. The instrumentals provided by Josh Abbott (drums), Ben Dewey (bass) and Isaac Deaton (guitar, bgv's) are okay, but nothing to get overly excited about. I'd call this a good album for background music at the beach or a party, but not to get stuck in traffic with!