Review by Alphonse Leong

"We can play loud and we can play mellow" seems to be the underlying message of this CD. So much so there that is an acoustic reprise of the catchy title song, "Something is Happening" -- though the earlier electrified version is better.

Joe Desmond's classic pop star vocals and Ronan Reinart's lean rhythm guitar create a sound that echoes late seventies' Vancouver bands like Prism. Of the slower, organic pieces, "I Never Said" is a worthy love song ("Now my coffee's stale, it's my thirteenth cup/I'd only lie to say I'd had enough"), while "I Don't Really Care" ("The voice of a wise man sounds like a fool") has a driving 'to hell with you' feel. The cover of the Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling" doesn't really add anything new, but it does confirm the Brit Invasion influence I thought I could hear in the band's own material.

Pretty solid stuff, if you like riffs that stick in your head all day.

Artist Contact Info: 1493 Crown St., North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V7J 1G4, djewer@direct.ca