The more things change in rock, the more they stay the same. Officially, rock's baby boomer era ended in the early '90s, when
Nirvana and
Pearl Jam exploded commercially and alternative rock became mainstream. From then on, generation X -- not the baby boom generation -- defined what was cutting-edge in rock. But the influence of boomer rock didn't disappear, and there are plenty of gen-X bands who have both '90s influences and '60s and '70s influences. Take
Wayne, for example. Released in 2002, the alternative pop rockers' promising debut album,
Music on Plastic, sounds contemporary by early-2000s standards, but also underscores their appreciation of '60s and '70s rock.
The Beatles and
Elton John are influences -- one of the tracks is a fine cover of
John's "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road" -- and so are alternative bands like
R.E.M. and
Radiohead. Another influence is, believe it or not,
the Beach Boys. For a band who falls into the alternative pop/rock category,
the Beach Boys might seem an unlikely influence. But the delicious harmonies on "Temporary" definitely bring to mind
Brian Wilson and friends -- just play "Temporary" after listening to "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and you can hear how
the Beach Boys have affected some of
Wayne's songs. One thing
Wayne gets from all of their influences -- baby boomer or gen-X -- is a strong sense of melody and harmony. All of the songs on this CD are extremely melodic and accessible;
Wayne, unlike some alternative bands, never goes out of their way to be abstract or aloof, and their songs always have an easy-to-absorb, easy-to-hum quality. Without question,
Music on Plastic is a very promising debut.