O.A.R. - In Between Now And Then

Hailing from Ohio State this jam band has steadily grown a grassroots fanbase of Dave Matthews listening, hippy-music lovin', sandals-to-every-concert wearing, crowd of loyal fans. Their major-label debut, In Between Now And Then, features half new songs and half road-tested material that they've built their name on, and marks their attempt to jump into the upper echelon of adult contemporary, college rock. Now I am getting as tired as the next guy when it comes to all these collegiate, acoustic-rock bands, but I try to keep an open ear to almost anything. The immediate difference that pops up on this album is in its obvious reggae influence. The band brings to mind Sublime and Bob Marley as much as Dave Matthews at times. The album opening “Dareh Meyod” jumps out with an island beat that makes you want some kind of small, colorful umbrella in your glass. Ironically, the best parts of the album lie in the more unoriginal songs. “Risen”, “Right On Time”, and “Mr. Moon” make the album front heavy on traditional acoustic rockers, but they are done well enough to make you not care that they aren’t the most original in the world. When the band tries to bring in the saxophone and island influence is when the album starts to get bland and forced. “Revisited” and “Chariot” show admirable attempts at throwing a unique sound into the same old college rock, but fall a little flat. Without question this band will find some form of success. Whether that success will be as a national headliner or them retreating back to their safety zone as hippy-music festival, jam-band heroes, only time will tell. While In Between Now And Then marks a rather enjoyable album of laid back tunes, the sole problem lies in too much pseudo-rasta, island influence and not enough sticking to what works. But, the songs that do work hit quite well and might make it worth a spin or two at your next barbeque. [www.ofarevolution.com]