Greenwheel's first album for Island Records surpasses all the expectations you might have of a band from Seventeen Magazine's "cute band alert." Their songs are catchy and should eventually prove radio friendly; A lot of bands who share their sound are already out there and doing well.
At first listen, it seems like there's not much to Greenwheel. After all, when the band vacillates from sounding like everything from Fuel and Lifehouse to Oleander, it's hard to pin down any tracks that especially stand out. But the songs do manage to worm their way into your consciousness and the album is appealing enough on first listen to provoke many more.
Not only will you crave another dose of their sound after hearing the songs just once or twice, but the soulful, angst-ridden lyrics will also worm their way into your brain and gestate until you can't help but pop the album back into your CD player. Even if Greenwheel isn't the most original band with a chance of reaching an airwave near you, they're at least derived from a sound that's easy and interesting to listen to.
Greenwheel is just beginning to get some much-deserved publicity, thanks in part to their performance at this summer's Molson Snow Jam. You can hear their single, "Breathe," on 103.3 the Edge, and hopefully more releases will follow.
Currently, Greenwheel is on tour with Hoobastank. Although they will not be hitting Buffalo on this trip, you can see them in Rochester, at RIT's Clark Gym on Oct.11.
