Mining much of the same cosmopolitan roots rock territory that
the Wallflowers and
Counting Crows have used to mixed results, the songs on
Minibar's debut do have some arresting moments, but often suffer from a split personality disorder. The band members are Brits, the music they aspire to is American roots rock, and they never fully capture the pop sheen of the former or the ruggedness of the latter. The result is a set of good but not great songs with good but not great melodies, hooks, and lyrics -- a sort of
Wilco-lite. The opener, "Holiday From Myself," is a catchy number, but also contains a blandness that renders it a bit innocuous. The same goes for the title track and the cover of
Ryan Adams' "Choked Up." The foundation is there, but
Minibar needs to include some barbs with the hooks next time to make them stick. ~ Steve Kurutz