On their major-label debut,
Ten Thousand Nights,
Old Pike often comes across as a hybrid of
the Wallflowers and
Matchbox 20, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like
the Wallflowers, the group's sound is essentially modern-day roots rock, building from the classic recordings of
Bob Dylan,
the Band, and
Neil Young, but their songwriting and production give even their rootsiest notions a decidedly anthemic spin. At their heart,
Old Pike don't seem to want the wide audience that
Matchbox 20 won with their radio-ready trad rock, since their music is humble and modest. Unfortunately, that means there aren't as many obvious hooks or immediate songs on
Ten Thousand Nights, but that doesn't mean it's a weak record. As a matter of fact, their sound is a bit more organic and shaded than most of their trad rock contemporaries, and several of their songs reveal themselves as sturdy creations upon repeated plays. They still have a tendency to play everything a little too straightforward, and lead vocalist Tim Jones blusters a little too often, but they're on their way to creating a distinctive sound and are developing their songwriting skills quite nicely, which is all enough to make
Ten Thousand Nights promising, even if it isn't consistent. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine