Days of the New

Wild horses charge at the listener from some distant point on the horizon, a shriek rises
from amid the pounding hooves, and a baritone voice intones, "Pain is my pill" -- and that's
only the first minute and a half of Days of the New's second album. The Louisville,
Kentucky, group's twenty-year-old deep thinker, Travis Meeks, comes by subtlety only
reluctantly. If he has a sense of humor, it's well hidden, and he keeps his person... More >

As marketing, pure genius. Looks like alt-country, no electric guitars even, yet is actually America's answer to Silverchair. And hey, it's sincere--17-year-old heartland frontman Travis Meeks really is depressed, really has immersed in Soundgarden, really does think it's deep to hook your single to the all-purpose trope "abuse." This is why grown-ups need Hanson. It's also why they need Radish. (Grade: C)