One Republic might have a number one single in Apologize, and hip-hop mogul Timbaland at the helm of their debut album, but there's something inescapably "boy band" about them.
There's a grandness to their approach that means they'll probably take up more aural spacethan a boy band when they play Vector next year, supporting Maroon 5. But that grandness feels overblown considering this is the kind of hackneyed pop-rock you get from Coldplay wannabes with only so many chord progressions at their disposal.
"I tried to paint you a picture, the colours were all wrong," croons liquid-voiced singer Ryan Tedder on one of many humourless songs presumably destined for an MTV reality show about rich kids on the dating scene.
Only on Won't Stop do they abandon the tortured, God-gazing melodies in favour of a tender, Jeff Buckley-flavoured tune. Otherwise, songs like All Fall Down and All We Are could have been cut from the same mould - one that barely differentiates them from the MOR fray.
Still, if you think Evanescence sound dangerous and want something just that bit softer, this could be the album of your dreams.
Label: Mosley Music/Interscope
Verdict: Timbaland's new mates have nothing new to say
