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Apr 20, 2010 Awesome Color By Nate Daly

Awesome Color are proving themselves trapped in the body of teenage boy suffering from delayed puberty. A talented band unable to find their own voice, their 2006 debut was pure Stooges worship. That was followed by Electric Aborigines, which failed to produce any tremendous songs; great guitar riffs, no memorable hooks. Massa Hypnos continues that downward trajectory with derivative songwriting and some blatant rip-offs.

Opener “Transparent” borrows the chugging guitar/organ riff from Deep Purple’s “Highway Star.” “Flying” shows the band aping Daydream Nation indie rock. Most egregious, “Zombie” lifts the guitar riff directly from Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen.” The only thing missing to make it a straight cover would be Cooper’s harmonica intro.

The best song on the album comes with “Vision,” an inspired bit of turbocharged energy. Guitarist/singer Derek Stanton shreds and howls with an intensity not found on the rest of the album. If the band is going to continue their no frills approach to scathing rock and roll, this could be a template. Until they take that step, they are retreading old ground. (www.myspace.com/awesomecolor)

Author rating: 3/10