THE RIFLES
Great Escape
If you have heard any English pop bands in the last five years, then the sound of Brit boys the Rifles will be totally familiar to you. With an uplifting verve and sassy delivery, this talented quartet are eminently listenable but completely and undeniably generic. Guitars chime and gang vocals lift heavenward (“Romeo and Julie”) all over this sweet 11-tracker. From this album alone, it sounds like the Rifles have been tailor-made to be slotted as “opening act” for one of those gigantic outdoor, multi-group concerts in Hyde Park or Wembley Stadium that the Brits are keen on having at the drop of a charity’s hat. The production is bright and clean and the vocals are mixed way up front for those who like to hear whatever the lead singer has to chirp cheekily about. If you’re thinking that this is as common as salt, you’re right. File under: here today, gone tomorrow, but fun to listen to while it’s in the player. (679, www.therifles.net) Jeff Monk