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Thursday, 08 December 2005 04:43

“Average Kid” is your average bite of aggro-rock; it will fit in well on stations like the Point.

Finn brothers Ville and Mat Leppanen form the backbone for this London-based trio, which also includes American drummer Benjy Reid; their influences admittedly include ELO, Bruce Springsteen, and Blondie, and based on the varied sounds on Deep Cuts, they don’t stop there.

“Average Kid” is your average bite of aggro-rock; it will fit in well on stations like the Point. The lead single, “Drive,” a supposed mix of the influences listed above, instead ends up sounding like a ’70s rock anthem (not necessarily a bad thing). Skip ahead a few tracks, and you find a rock opera–sounding remake of Paul Simon’s “Boy in the Bubble.” The acoustic “End of the World” finally highlights Ville’s vocal abilities; “Hour of Sunshine” has a sunny ska beat; and with “Hell Outta Dodge” and again on “Lotta Lost Time,” we again return to the sound made famous by Styx three decades ago. It will be interesting to see what they sound like once Snowdogs decide who they want to be.