Featuring former members of Antarctica and Christie Front Drive, the 101 has a garage sound emanating out of its polished power pop punk rock. “Dancing” is a great example of this, as the guitars shine over singer Eric Richter’s pipes. Other power pop nuggets include “Numbers”, with its tight rhythm section that is far more enjoyable than anything Fall Out Boy could ever produce. Fans of Velvet Crush, Jimmy Eat World, Matthew Sweet or the Connells would seek comfort in gems such as “Gone”, but the delicious “Part I” is too short at only two minutes. It leads straight into (you guessed it) “Part II”, a strange occurrence that nips the momentum in the bud. But the second part holds its own with some great bridges and guitar work. The surefire winner though has to be the rapid, infectious and choppy “Mott Haven”. The 101 doesn’t stray too far from this strong recipe, as “Jumble” is airtight and extremely well-crafted. And “Domino” rounds out this strong pop rock release. There is nothing elementary about what the 101 has done here.
The 101: Numbers
The 101
Limekiln Records
2006-08-08