12 Songs | MR038 | Release Date 2007

The operative words for Grand Serenade, four young men from Heber Springs now transplanted to Little Rock, are emotional and romantic. The group's DNA can be traced back to U2 and, in Grand Serenade's better moments, Duran Duran. Lead singer Kyle Mays doesn't seem to care whether you understand what he's singing (although it mostly seems to be about girls) as long as you come along while he rides the waves of the surging anthems.

The surprise concealed in Grand Serenade's indie rock approach is frequently changing time signatures - almost prog-like in the opening song "DDS." Ideas and energy flag as the album goes on, but the first half finds Grand Serenade making its case and summing itself up quite nicely. To quibble about how there should be more riffs like the one that propels the irresistible "Bond Girls" is not the point. This band wants to show you the heart on its sleeve instead of whomp you over the head with its guitars.

- via the Arkansas Democrat Gazette