OneRepublic

After a MySpace triumph and a single touched by Timbaland, expectations for One Republic's debut were high, and are answered here by a collection of elaborately engineered commercial rock. The presentation of the barn burning single in two resplendent versions (the soar-with-eagles, alt rocking original and the slightly more urban remix) adds the distinct whiff of a one-hit wonder, but equally dramatic singles like "Stop And Stare" or "Goodbye, Apathy" give the LP some legs.

Timbaland sure has funny taste in rock dudes. From the sound of his latest discovery,
OneRepublic, he's been watching a lot of The Hills lately. The Colorado band, longtime
music-biz chancers, sounds like an aggressively ordinary Audrina/arena rock combo,
combining the least distinctive traits of the Fray, Matchbox Twenty, Nickelback or (to be
charitable) Coldplay. But Timbaland has given them a huge hit with his remix of "... More >