UNWRITTEN LAW
Elva (Interscope)
Reviewed by Melanie Campbell

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Silly us: we thought we'd stumbled over a brand-new band. Turns out that Unwritten Law has been around for a few years, but Elva is their first release that doesn't sound like "Blink-182 Light." Thank goodness we gave it a shot! They've beefed up the arrangements this time around, and found themselves with a bit more depth since their '98 self-titled release, which makes for fabulous listening. There's a more than a little white-boy reggae on "How Do You Feel;" and the Roth-era-Van-Halen-ized-rockabilly-speed-thrash of "Blame It On Me" kicks major ass! They also manage to satirize social priorities with goofy charm and a catchy hook on "Actress, Model ..." ("she's my actress-model-dancer-whateeeevvverrr...") and leave the ladies all a-swoon with the current radio smash "Seein' Red." The latter almost sounds like one of those drippy 80's hair-metal band power ballads, but we can forgive that as long as they keep putting out slamming, melodic, massively guitar-washed big-beats like this. Get up and move, already!

© 2002 - Melanie Campbell