Wired All Wrong – Break Out The Battle Tapes / 2006 Nitrus / 10 Tracks / http://www.wiredallwrong.net / http://www.nitrusrecords.com / Reviewed 14 August 2006

Wired All Wrong is an act that has a member from God Lives Underwater. You remember them, don’t you? The band that did “From Your Mouth”? The band starts out with a very Atari Teenage Riot push of noise during “15 Minutes”, before the band goes into something that more closely resembles a rock track. In fact, what Wired All Wrong create is a blend of the hair metal that was created during the period that grunge was starting to grow larger, plus the nu rock of the late nineties and early aughts. It is something catchy to be sure, and shows that Wired All Wrong can take hints from more classic rock, rap, scratching, and more to succeed on this disc. It only takes a few minutes, but the band can pick up new musical styles with the greatest of ease.

For example, “Elevatin” is a track that blends together Cake, Jamiroquai, and even earlier versions of Incubus. Again, the style of the track lends itself well for massive amounts of play on popular radio. Being in major bands in the past have allowed Wired All Wrong to create track after track that will scream up the charts while residing up at the top. “Nothing At All” is yet another track that needs to be released to rock radio; it’s eclectic nature is something that will draw fans in droves to Wired All Wrong. The band is like a serious, not-cheesy version of Crazy Town. For “Medicate”, Wired All Wrong add a hard rock crunch to their overall sound that blends well with a vocal style that ties together Marilyn Manson with Disturbed and Linkin Park.

This is perhaps the most musically diverse CD I’ve received for a while; the fact that even 13 year olds first getting into music can appreciate this music is just another plus that the band can chalk up for “Break Out The Battle Tapes”. The band does not to start spinning their wheels without traction during later tracks on this disc. This is good, because there is a noticeable tendency to go forward and stack the solid tracks at the front of the disc. “15 Minutes” and “End of All Things” are equally strong, and the band does not let their fans down once during the entirety of this disc. Here’s to hoping that Wired All Wrong can continue cutting albums in the near future.

Top Tracks: Let Me Go, 15 Minutes

Rating: 7.6/10

[JMcQ]