Horrorscope  (Audio CD) 
by Eve 6

Remember the days when every band from Bon Jovi to the Fixx embraced keyboards like a long-lost lover? Whether you consider rock's tickling of the electronic ivories the good ol' days or the devil's spawn will determine how much you are going to like a good part of Eve 6's Horrorscope. Once again, the band enlists producer Don Gilmore, who expands the group's sound with dense, unsustained vocals; basic Van Halen riffs ("On the Roof Again," "Amphetamines"); and a rhythmic urgency that resurrects images of '80s group the Call ("Rescue," "Promise"). Eve 6 recorded their debut barely after the ink had dried on their high school diplomas. There's little doubt that the talented young trio holds tremendous promise (the band members can write head-bobbing hooks blindfolded), but in terms of fresh songwriting creativity, Horrorscope falls short of the efforts of similarly precocious contemporaries such as Ash and Supergrass. This is largely Gilmore's album, and when Eve 6 find the confidence to toss aside the studio-trickery crutch and the pop-metal security blanket, they should grow into a formidable rock band. --Beth Massa