A Twist in My Story

Secondhand Serenade
Glass Note Records

You know how sometimes an unremarkable Top 40 song has a moment when the chorus soars and the guitars go into overdrive and cheese is briefly transformed into something good? Now try to imagine an entire album made up of those moments: 44 minutes of way too much of a good thing, as some whiny future stalker makes love out of nothing at all (well, other than breathy earnestness, dumb-dumb lyrics and formulaic songs.) The only mildly interesting thing about the disc is that it's not the product of some corporate hit-making team; Secondhand Serenade's big claim to fame is being MySpace's "#1 unsigned artist" for seven months. Yeah, be proud of that, bro! But if your musical response is more sophisticated than, "OMG thx for the add ur 2 cute!!!" then avoid this collection of prom anthems.