Personally I read music reviews like I skim ingredients; I find they are so full of name dropping and vague references that I have to bounce from paragraph to paragraph just to get the main ideas I’m looking for. What other bands does this one bring to mind? Is the album enjoyable to listen to? Is it worth my time? With their Toronto show coming up on November 27th I wanted to write up a quick review for anyone who might want to check them out, and prove that I too can name drop and reference myself like a library.

Having dominated my playlists in the past 2 weeks, Rogue Wave has left an impression on me. Zach Rogue’s songwriting skills are diverse if not lacking in focus. His soft, warbling voice are sometimes all that relate track from track, however the effortlessness of the transition is what makes this a standout album. While bands like Bloc Party and the Arcade Fire completely dominated my iPod for a few weeks and haven’t been played since, Rogue Wave is with me to stay. The album trollops in sounding like the Beetles’ Eleanor Rigby without the strings, and then entertains with at least 5-6 solid tracks before issuing a quiet goodbye.

The accoustic atonement of Salesman on the Day of the Parade is the standout track, a singing apology that which, despite it’s true meaning, echoes “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done” in the heart of every listener who has ever had to make these words their mantra or longed to hear them in their past.

The only track that loses me a bit because of it’s nonsensical hook, Publish My Love also seems to have found it’s way the furthest into the mainstream appearing on The O.C., however despite my annoyance with it, it still remains a solid and catchy song.

Continuing through a diverse transition of sounds an genres, Medicine Ball sounds distincltly inspired by The Decemberists as Zach’s voice suddenly peaks into a punk/country rock which may or may not be the lament about losing weight. Other tracks like California and Temporary round out this album with soft guitar and sentiment.

I highly recommend this album as an unexpected one to pick up for fans of bands like Death Cab for Cutite, and the Shins, and for anyone enjoying this year’s abundance of rookie and sophamore indie talent and looking for something that follows that trend. I give it a 3.8/5.