General Election Engines have a lot to say. Their best ideas spark when they speak up as a whole, though they aren’t afraid to use a spotlight on certain cuts, letting the individual members show off a little. There’s substance here, something that bodes well for a young band. Within GEE you hear a wide gamut of influences, from folk, surfer rock, and punk, as well as more modern acts like Modest Mouse and The Violent Femmes.

The rhythm section sounds like Entwistle and Moon on qualudes. You can set your watch by them, but there are some mean fills. Holly keeps a beat that would make Vincent DeLorenzo blush. In “$ Time and Patience” Matt (bassist) is given some real room to stretch, and it’s worth pluggin’ your laptop into some real speakers for it. There’s some sophisticated string work going on up front as well, like the soaring guitar lead from Pat in “She Believes.” Songs like 'Away' and 'What Happened to That' are more cohesive, intelligent, and dare I say it - sensitive. It makes me think there’s more going on under their finely crafted surface.

General Election Engines has such a solid catalogue because each song represents yet another recipe you can make at home with good ol’ 3-chord rock. It’s a little refreshing when a band can vary from one song to the next, do it well, and still maintain their signature vibe. GEE's influences would seldom release an album without at least one paint-by-number cover song. General Election Engines skips the covers, instead delivering a versatile, cohesive sound that feels like it can take you for a left turn at any minute. I gotta say, this is one band where live is just the way to go. Don’t get me wrong, the lyrics are worth parsing, and the music consistently delivers; it’s easy to imagine slippin' on by on LSD to this as part of your tres exclusive motoring collection. Because y’know what? Sometimes I want to be listen to one album, and not a playlist with thousands of options. It’s nice to hear something new that’s worth getting lost in, but live? It’s just more fun, and you’re likely to get a lot more out of it. Bonus – they’re known to bring cookies.

General Election Engines- What Happened to That