Lines Of Unreason, The

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Pitchblend -- not to be confused with mathy '90s Washington D.C. post-rockers Pitchblende -- are a British group with roots in the now all but abandoned numetal scene of the turn of the millennium. The quartet has slowly refashioned its sound over the course of several singles and EPs into something entirely different and far more interesting. Pitchblend's mix of old-fashioned radio-ready melody and hard rock edge used to be a commonplace on the rock scene, back when bands like Boston and Styx ruled the FM airwaves. Most contemporary efforts to re-create this balance of hooks and crunch, from the Darkness to Wolfmother, have fallen prey to the ever-present curse of revivalism, but Pitchblend are not overtly aping any of their corporate rock forebears, merely applying that same mixture of sounds to contemporary commercial rock. At first, singer Rich Savage (yes, really) comes across as just another emo kid, complete with the requisite tendency to move into his head voice on choruses, but he's far more controlled and technically gifted than most similar singers, which keeps power ballads like "December Song" from sounding mawkish and contrived. Lead guitarist Alex Wilson owes much to the post-U2 school of spiraling, ever-modulating guitar lines and cascades of effects pedals, but just as with Savage's vocals, he exhibits a sense of taste and restraint that keeps even his most florid solos from going over the top. In lesser hands, fist in the air anthems like "Design Our Own Escape" would sound almost laughable, but Pitchblend's earnestness and full-on commitment to their chosen sound helps put The Lines of Unreason over. Whether the world is waiting for a new Night Ranger remains to be seen, but those hipsters listening semi-ironically to the '70s/'80s genre retroactively dubbed "buttrock" would do well to check out what happens when a new band applies the musical lessons of that style without sniggering. ~ Stewart Mason