With The Toughest No-Brainer Yet, Sundry deliver a fun and engaging debut that points at a bright future. The songs are crisp and entertaining, revolving around the power chord grooves from guitarist Mike Payne. The lyrics, included with Bible references, focus on Christian ideas, sometimes coming across as rather cheesy but overall nice.
The music is a cross between your average high-powered modern rocker, and the slower pop/rock cuts. "The Least of These" (with guest vocals from Mac Powell of Third Day), reminds me of the Corbans' "Give Yourself Away." Mark Gibson makes an attempt at rap on "Enough's Enough" (a failed attempt), resulting in a song nearing Reality Check territory. Party-rocker "Famous" deserves full marks for funkiness. This is music which promises a great live show.
In the end, The Toughest No-Brainer Yet proves Sundry to be a talented group with plenty of energy and some great tunes. Come their next album, I'll be hoping for something a little more ground-breaking.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
7ball #31Reviewed by Chris WellAt first glance, there's a danger of Sundry being thrown into the earthy-heartland-rock bin with, say, The Wallflowers and Third Day and Smalltown Poets. Which, of course, is not bad company. But, as demonstrated on their label debut, The Toughest No-Brainer Yet, the boys in Sundry are all about exploring their musical options. Firmly anchored in meat-and-potatoes rock 'n' roll, most bands would…Similar sounding releases
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