Gloriana's stylized synthesis of
Fleetwood Mac and '70s Californian country-rock is designed to elicit astonished gasps of "they sure don't make them like this anymore" -- which is more or less true, especially when the group's composition is taken into the equation. Gloriana is an old-fashioned construction of a band, assembled mainly from old pros who haven't quite hit the big time yet -- although
Cheyenne Kimball, veteran of America's Most Talented Kid and her own MTV reality show in 2006, came close. The group has been put through major-label machinations, singing songs from professional songwriters and being produced by
Matt Serletic, best-known for his work with
Matchbox 20 and
Collective Soul, and now launching his own Emblem label with Gloriana as its flagship debut artist.
Serletic co-wrote the bulk of the songs on the group's self-titled debut, steering the band toward a bright, melodic crossover country-pop that greatly emphasizes the latter, sometimes so much that this album seems country in name only, with the fiddles and mandolins used primarily as window-dressing. Sometimes, this approach is entirely too slick, particularly when the rhythms are pounding too hard on "Wild at Heart" and "You Said," but at their best, Gloriana can evoke the forgotten charms of '70s studio-centric soft rock in both its mellow and rocking incarnations, giving the ballads a lilting touch of grace and pushing the hooks and guitars so hard on "How Far Do You Wanna Go?" and "If You're Leaving" that they recall nothing less than prime
Rick Springfield. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine