First in Space was formed in 2006 by Johnny Stanec and Dolus McCormick. After touring the Midwest, they honed their sound and recorded this album in 2007. As a debut the music is polished and professional and makes an excellent impression. These guys play straight up rock and roll here, “Jenny” opening the album with strong guitar chords and drumming, but it gets even better as the album plays on. I took notice of the melodic “Taken For Granted” which remind me of both Tom Petty and Joe Jackson. The awesome “What You Need” has a Posies flavor to it that was just catchy and irresistible. The band brings classic rock harmonies to these tracks that help make them true pop gems. With the longer cuts “Anything At All” and “I Let You Down” it tends to get more standardized in sound. But the power pop comes through in the richly detailed “Lock It Away” and those great builds to a chorus in “Wasted Time” will definitely be appreciated by music connoisseurs. Other songs have varied influences, “In The Water” and “Last One” have a slight REM vibe, but the group has a sound that merely touches these influences without sacrificing any originality. Worth the effort here, and a new album is already in the works!
