Afterimage, a Los Angeles new wave band that have been around since the early 1980s, only featured one original member, Daniel Voznick, by the time of this 2001 release. It's run-of-the-mill moody alternative rock with a lingering 1980s new wave influence, particularly in the lower register, melodramatic vocals of Voznick (who also wrote all the songs). You can trace that lineage back through numerous British vocalists, from
Joy Division all the way to
David Bowie, though Voznick isn't up to that level. There are plenty of plangent guitars, introspective lyrics with a suspicion of worse things to come, and romantic disillusion, made just a little bit out of the ordinary with the frequent use of female backup singers. ~ Richie Unterberger