On May 18th, APPLESPACEBAR, a five piece band composed of Ben Trexel (guitars and production), Johnny Nine (lead vocals and keys), Lake Trechsel (Drums), Patrick Pranti (Guitar) and Chipper Bonds (bass) from Birmingham, Alabama released their second album, ‘Songs You Might Like’.

As admitted perfectionists the band spent many months in the studio striving to perfect their ultimate sound so as to never lose the listener interest over the album’s course. Wishing to convey the earlier transcendent ideals and melodies of rock legends such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin but at the same time keeping a fresh up to date feel to the music, so as to maintain modern day relevance, was the bands key priority.

Having listened to the tracks it would seem that they’ve indeed managed to very neatly bring forward a little of the 20th century classic rock to modern ears.

As introductions to albums go, this really is a stunning initiation. The large and loud chords of the guitar swoop upon you in the very first second and instantly set you up with a feeling for the rest of the album. Short, sharp, coarse notes immediately prick up the ears and scream for your attention. With the electricity of the guitar and Johnny’s vocals shouting and then echoing in your mind, ‘Bright Light Shine’ is the very essence of rock. With the addition of a simple background beat on the drums this song has such good symmetry and all the elements combine to make a sweet rock song.

It’s easy to see what they worked towards, without sounding outdated they’ve kept the feel of a classic rock band.

Relaxing into ‘Little box of Secrets’ with a calmer electricity on the guitar, makes a nice change up from the intro but there’s still the retention of the crisp chord strumming and with a build up to more clattering drums there is a Slash-like attention to a neat little guitar solo. Moving into the body of the album ‘Let Me Down Easy’ brings a more chilled vibe, really enabling the audience to become engaged. Then with a superb crash into a louder drum section the song takes off before repetitively melting into the quiet lull of the verses. This quiet, much like the calm before a storm, is reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional or Smashing Pumpkins, giving the song a feel of real modernity and it is arguably my favourite of the album.

Proceeding through the rest of the album with the likes of ‘To Whom It May Concern’, a gentler Coldplay–like song with the use of keys and some great chiming guitar, there’s always a heavy air of expectancy as the audience waits for the heavy hits of the drum and guitar slaps to cut in. In addition, the ironically complex ‘Simplify’, with an amalgamation of some inspired guitar, vocal overlays and booming drums and ‘Can’t Make You Believe’ with pace changes and almost stereotypical rock riffs help to bolster the middle of the album. At the close of, ‘Songs You Might Like’ you’re left in a slightly more serene state with the effect of the keys especially on ‘Winners and Losers’ making the tracks seem like mellow rock rather than the harder rock of before.

Are they as brilliantly inspired as Floyd or the beloved Zeppelin? No, unfortunately not, but that level of genius and worldwide acclaim is a real rarity in this day and age. So whilst APPLESPACEBAR mention their similarity to the legends, it’s important to remember that it’s in style only. However, it is because of this very style that they are most definitely worth a listen and if you’re ever in the mood for some very decent rock tracks they are certainly a great band to have on the CD rack. The Alabama five are classic rock for the here and now.