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DAYS OF THE NEW

(Outpost)

On the homonymous follow-up to his (also homonymous) debut, 20-year-old Days of the New auteur Travis Meeks imagines a new genre: chamber grunge. If you ever thought Alice in Chains' acoustic Sap EP could have used a little flügelhorn or harmonium, well, this is for you. And it does sound pretty good. After ditching his band earlier this year, Meeks ended up trying his hand at the old Reznor trick of writing, performing, and producing the album all by himself. He sure didn't waste his major-label money -- orchestras, choirs, and Sarah McLachlan-style background singers tastefully complement his morbid AIC vocal melodies and Pagey acoustic-guitar playing on practically every song.

Songwriting, however, plagues Meeks, the way it has cutout bins full of grungers before him. Tunes routinely roll along in a flaccid Rusted Root groove for more than five minutes, and it appears he's acquired the same knack for senseless lyrics that characterizes the celebrated post-rock scene which shares his Louisville address. Thing is, to the legions of high-school boys who drunkenly pass acoustic guitars around the campfire all over rural America every summer, Meeks is at least the new Chris Cornell, if not the new Kurt. And no one needs that sort of thing more than they do.

-- Sean Richardson