Hedley's claim to fame is that frontman Jacob Hoggard was a fan favorite on the 2003 season of Canadian Idol before being voted off (much to his delight) in the semi-finals. Hoggard never planned on making it so far in the contest, and ultimately realized he didn't even want to win, since that meant being tied to a record deal performing someone else's songs. Fast-forward a few years and now he's fronting his own band,
Hedley, with former members of Vancouver's Everything After. On their self-titled debut,
Hedley basically play a poppier, lighter-edged version of the rock performed by fellow countrymen
Social Code, which only vaguely resembles the pop-punk of, say,
Simple Plan, and leans somewhat closer to the camps of
SR-71 or
Bowling for Soup. The album is competent, highlighted by the swirling guitars and exuberant hooks of standout tracks like the empowered "On My Own" or "I Don't Believe It," although even these songs take a couple spins to really grab listeners. ~ Corey Apar