Vertical Horizon may wind up going down in history as one of the most faceless bands ever to record a Number One hit. They surfaced in spring 2000 with the hit single “Everything You Want”. The song with it’s appealing pop/rock sound and hook, lumped them right in with the matchbox twentys and Trains of the world, and spurred their album, “Everything You Want”, to double-platinum status. This all occurred despite the fact that 95% of people couldn’t pick a single member of the band out of a police lineup. This may not have been a problem in the less video-centric 70’s or early 80’s (does anyone know what the members of Styx, Toto or Kansas look like?), but in the 21st century, your band needs some sort of visual identity to survive in the MTV-dominated pop music world.

Their new album, ‘Go” may not lift them out of general anonymity, but if you enjoyed the pleasing adult guitar pop sound of ‘Everything You Want”, then this CD is gonna be right up your alley. There are no trendy touches to “Go”-no rap metal, guest rappers or experiments with electronica-just straight-ahead power pop. Lead singer Matt Scannell has an everyguy-sounding raspy voice, and writes a good song too: though the topic never drifts away from general relationship topics (although on some tracks the line between relationship with lover and relationship with higher power are blurred), and the choruses hammer the points home.

There’s not a lot of reinventing the wheel here, as tracks like first single “I’m Still Here” and “Echo” share a very similar sound to the “Everything You Want” single. If you can base song lyrics on personal experience, then Scannell has definitely been unlucky in love, as almost all the lyrics mourn the screwing up of a relationship of some sort.The band’s formula works on “I’m Still Here”, with it’s wistful lyrics (“you were right and I was wrong/so why are you the one who’s gone?/and I’m still here”), “Echo” is a bit too much of a retread, with it’s saving graces being a supremely meaty chorus and an unforgettable guitar riff.

As I’ve said before, VH doesn’t fall too far astray from their signature sound-with some exceptions being the somewhat harder rocking “Sunshine” (containing an opening riff that bears a slight resemblance to STP’s “Vasoline” before settling into a quieter sound), and-on the other side of the spectrum-the more subdued numbers like the mournful country-kissed “Goodbye Again” and the haunting “It’s Over”, which sounds like a Little River Band track updated with louder guitars and an insistent backbeat. The album’s quality sort of trails off towards the album’s end , as “Inside” and “Underwater” are more adventurous sounding, orchestral/acoustic tracks. The two songs kinda blend into each other and fade out of memory rather quickly.

As someone whose introduction to music was fueled by Top 40 radio and TV (“American Bandstand”, “Solid Gold”) in the early-80’s, I can definitely appreciate the power of a good pop/rock song a la Air Supply or Christopher Cross. I guess bands like matchbox twenty and Vertical Horizon are sort of an updated version of those bands, with slightly more adventurous and aggressive musical chops (and in m20’s case, an ace songwriter). If you’re looking for well-played, well-sung adult pop music, then “Go” will be a welcome addition to your collection. Vertical Horizon may never get respect from critics or musical snobs, but their solid meat-and-potatoes music is definitely pleasing, if not artistically challenging.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Key tracks: "I'm Still Here", "It's Over", "Sunshine"

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving