Tantric

Rock music doesn't get any safer than Tantric's The End Begins. This post-grunge record is safer than an affluent suburb nestled in a seaside town and Tantric, the Kentucky band featuring former members of Days Of The New, that massive post-grunge band that dominated the FM dial in the late '90s, is as inoffensive as a basket of newly born puppies and kitties. "Regret, Down And Out"and "The One" are assembled in the standard verse-chorus-verse structure, and there’s a pleasant, Southern friend sensibility that laces some of the riffing. But The End Begins lacks any sort of danger that is often the most appealing thing about rock bands. There's no slicing or sharp edges present here, resulting in extremely vanilla rock music. You'll bob yourr head to these tunes, but you won't be inspired to throw a TV outta window a la Guns N' Roses.

—Amy Sciarretto
03.14.08