Some great bands came out of Hollywood's hard rock/metal scene of the 1980s -- from
Mötley Crüe to
Guns 'N Roses to
Bitch -- but that scene also gave us a surplus of generic soundalike bands who assumed that the easiest way to land a big record deal and get on MTV was to be as formulaic as possible. A product of that scene,
Kik Tracee makes a point of emulating
GN'R on the contrived, ultra-slick
No Rules, which was produced by
Slaughter bassist Dana Strum. The majority of the band's material is routine and uninteresting, although there are a few worthwhile selections, namely "Trash City" (a commentary on urban decay) and a cover of
Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" (which works surprisingly well in a hard rock setting). On the whole, however,
No Rules is most forgettable. Lead singer Stephen Shareaux may have had an Axl Rose fixation, but unlike Rose, he rarely sounds like he's coming from the heart. ~ Alex Henderson