Born on the bayou of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Research Turtles are a band with buzzing British Invasion styled guitars layered on top of Foo Fighters styled grunge pop. It’s a natural mix that takes elements of the past guitar greats (Beatles, The Who) and fits it into chunky rock melodies that grow on you like moss on a tree. Founders Jud and Joe Norman channel the melodic magic on the opener “Let’s Get Carried Away.” The heavy guitars plunge listeners into the Green Day-styled “Damn” full of both distorted guitar solos and harmonic choruses. “Mission” is a great straight ahead power pop single that should garner attention from a few radio stations that value good music. The southern style of the band emerges on the power ballad “Kiss Her Goodbye” and aggressive guitars race ahead on the excellent “Cement Floor.” It tends to bog down on “The Riff Song” into a Led Zeppelin-esque gumbo of riffs and vocal distortions. The sweet “Into A Hole” is another highlight, with both melody and riffs on equal footing. The musical hooks tend to take a back seat on the albums second half, but for a debut this is more than enough to get excited about. Fans of Teenage Fanclub, You Am I and Bowling For Soup will also find a lot to like about these Turtles.
