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Sweet Home Alabama
goes indie

Wild Sweet Orange - We Have Cause To Be Uneasy
(Canvasback Music)
4 stars (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed: July 22, 2008
Wild Sweet Orange

Review by Tony Bonyata

Melodic indie rock certainly isn't a rarity these days, but it's still refreshing to hear this style of music from a new band willing to give it a slightly different spin, which is exactly what the Birmingham, AL quartet Wild Sweet Orange have done on their impressive full-length debut We Have Cause To Be Uneasy.

Eschewing the southern musical ties of their homestate, Wild Sweet Orange are instead content to dwell in the realms of modern indie rock, and, as it turns out, it's a surprisingly good fit. With a healthy mixture of folk-laced numbers ("Sour Milk"), atmospheric psychedelia ("Crickets") and swelling pop ("Land Of No Return," a song which was featured on the hit show Grey's Anatomy) this album has a great momentum that ebbs-and-flows perfectly. More importantly, this foursome knows how to rock out, as witnessed on the guitar-driven numbers "House Of Regret" and the irresistible "Either/Or," both tunes which tap into the wonderful dynamics of The Bends-era Radiohead.

Following the success of their 2007 self-titled debut EP within the blogosphere, and just days before the national release of this effort on July 29th, the band has been garnering early success with not only a recent appearance last month on David Letterman but have also landed a coveted slot performing at this year's Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 3rd. The formula for the band's success lies primarily on vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Preston Lovinggood's sense of melody, drama and composition, along with a comforting, yet emotionally-driven voice. Couple this with a taught band that not only kick-out-the-jams when called upon, but also knows exactly when to pull the reigns in to let the strength of Lovinggood's songs shine through.

And shine this album does - in spades. This is definitely one promising young band to keep your eyes... and ears on.

Watch Wild Sweet Orange - "Ten Dead Dogs" video

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