The Hundreds And Thousands — The Hundreds And Thousands

Ottawa's Starling called it quits back in 2002, but the band's primary trio (Danny Michel departed after their debut album) never completely stopped playing together. They adopted a new name and worked on bringing their decade-old sound up-to-date when they recently decided it was time to reform.

They've had seven years to get good at their instruments, and that experience is definitely evident. But this self-titled debut falls a little short in its lyrics. Much of the content — including "Rat Race" and "Worker Bees"— deals with the daily grind in the big city, and it's steeped in cliche. Songs about the tortured, ignorant-to-his-plight urbanite reached their apex a number of years ago.

The Hundreds And Thousands do their best to distance themselves from the Starling sound, but Ian LeFeuvre's vocals are just too distinct to allow a complete departure. Consider this an amped-up, less saccharine version of 1999's Sustainer.