Trouble Doll

Grade:

B

Sometimes you don't want to think too much about the music you are listening to. You just want to kick back and let the tunes roll over you.

One way to find ever-elusive music that will make you happy is to look at trends in the music business. The trends in most popular music today are short songs and the band claiming to have their roots firmly planted in punk.

Official Site

http://www.pinwheelonline.net

Trouble Doll is just that sort of album. It is full of quick-hitting songs that leave just enough of a mark to let you know they were there. There is a definite, albeit subdued, punk sensibility to the album. It's this punk soul that gives Doll most of its bite.

Pinwheel, the Long Beach quartet behind Doll, is able to take what could be considered straightforward pop songs and turn them on their ear with the combination of fast guitars, spirited drums and the gravely voice of lead singer John Surge.

The title track, "Trouble Doll" is probably the song that emphasizes Pinwheel's punk roots the most. It has an angry quality to it that doesn't always show itself in the album's other songs.

With titles such as "Superball" and "Iodine," it may seem as if Pinwheel is just some frat guys goofing around, but, in reality, the members of Pinwheel have made a quality product that is worth listening to.