The Big Fear, the second album from Long Island rockers Common Rotation, shows a group with some serious talent and a wealth of extensive musical knowledge. The album features tracks that delve into folk ("Don't Let's Start"), country ("Answering Machine"), pop ("Primetime"), and even pop-punk ("Indie Rockin' ").
The band, led by singer/guitarist Eric Kufs and singer Adam Busch, makes these transitions naturally without any of their songs seeming false or forced. The effect is a diverse album that still has a unified feeling.
Common Rotation has received quite a bit of media attention since singer Busch appeared on the hugely popular WB drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As the character Warren, he plagued Buffy and company in numerous episodes before the show's end.
But Busch's band isn't only for Buffy fans, and more importantly, it's not the kind of album that you listen to on a whim and forget moments later. We soon see that it is Common Rotation's undeniable talent and not their prime time cameos that holds responsibility for the band's increasing popularity.
Their songs are genuinely well-crafted with engaging lyrics and catchy rhythms. It's also noteworthy how Kufs and Busch use their different vocal styles to layer rich country and folk techniques on top of Barenaked Ladies-style pop to create a resoundingly pleasant listening experience.
The Big Fear is guaranteed to tickle the aural palates of listeners with diverse musical tastes and appeal to a large audience. It's joyous spirit is infectious and it will hopefully spread to mainstream music because Common Rotation deserves every ounce of critical praise they receive.