Verbena � La Musica Negra
by Keavin Wiggins

Verbena � La Musica Negra
Label: XL Recordings
Buzz or Hype?: Capitol
Rating:

If you have got a penchant for street rock, ala the 80's Hollywood variety, then you will find that you struck gold with Verbena. Here is a band that hops on the raw rock revival and takes you for a definite spin into yesterday when guitars were loud, the music was rough and dirty, but all so melodic and addictive to the ears.

Verbena's formula is one part Stooges with one part 80's street rock (Early LA Guns, Guns N' Roses). While the ladder are known for a bit more complex song structure, Verbena concentrates on the secret ingredient to Iggy's greatness; raw music with lots of energy but still melodic as hell.

There is no more perfect demonstration of that then on the opening track "Way Out West". Here's a song that spans the decades and still sounds fresh today, and also has all the makings of a radio hit.

On the rest of the album they change up things enough from track to track to give you a nice variety and the songs are filled with enough grooves to keep your attention.

This group isn't likely to start a new musical revolution but are definite contenders for winning over fans. Verbena offer a nice break from the overly produced "rock" of today and they seem to have a keen ear to what made rock work so well in the past and bring it all together into one cool package.

They aren't quite as good as the Vines but are definitely worthy of attention from the same fan base.

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