Paper St.
Music for the Desperate
(Self-Released)

As the title of their latest CD might suggest, hard rockers Paper St. understand desperation - desperation to find an audience. Running the gamut from imitations of Jon Bon Jovi and Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas' to Motley Crue and Skid Row, the band struggles to find an identity.

Without even a shred of decent melody or appeasing harmony, this album is full of overindulgent rock smut - quite possibly, everything the '90s grunge movement sought to eradicate from the earth.

Overindulging in gratuitous guitar solos and whiny vocals, Paper St. seems to hope for '80s style rock 'n' roll stardom with a hint of this century's emo credibility. Embarrassing, really. And that's even without mentioning they're the "official band of Labatt Blue beer". Now that's really embarrassing.

Maybe the members of Paper St. never heard of writing a real song infused with real meaning. But that doesn't excuse the fact that Paper St.'s CD leaves listeners desperate alright, desperate for some decent tunes.

A. Koledin