While some bands fumble and trip over themselves to drop an EP every few years, Toronto's grand poobah of the rawk shows a knack for creativity, crafting album after album of barnstorming hard rock grooves. 2003's monstrous "We Sweat Blood" and 2005's addictive "Sleep is the Enemy" both spent many months on our collective playlists.

"Never Too Loud" sports more than it's fair share of ass-shaking, head-bobbin' charms. "City Streets" is a stripped-down rocker in the vein of classic THIN LIZZY like "Romeo and the Lonely Girl", complete with a near-perfect Lynott vocal melody from Dan Jones. Fans of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE should find tracks like "Forest For the Trees" and "King of Magazines" to their liking, as both blend quirky hooks, clever lyrics, and seasoned riff-craft into tantalizing, heavy guitar pop. However, the disc isn't without weak points - both "Still in High School" and "Take Me Home" reek of puny, 90s grunge lite a la EVERCLEAR, demonstrating some rare bumps in the road for this prolific band. The fact that both of the album's weakest tracks are in 'clean-up position' (tracks 3 & 4) could test the patience of new listeners. While "Never Too Loud" lacks the consistency of previous discs, it's still strewn with toe-tappers. You could do a lot worse with twelve bucks.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.dankojones.com

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.