Northern Room - Last Embrace

If you miss the U2 of 20 years ago, then you might want to check out Milwaukee's Northern Room. The openings of "We're on Fire" and "Galaxy" sound like The Joshua Tree outtakes while lead singer Andrew Jonathen's crooning on "Dutch Radio" sounds like pure Bono. Did Daniel Lanois take up residence in Milwaukee and I missed it? Lest you think I'm exaggerating, know that the photo of the band members on the back of the insert features them in a pose just like that used by U2 but in a Midwest equivalent of the Joshua Tree National Park.

Aside from Jonathen, who also adds guitar and keys, the band consists of Tony Olla on guitar & keyboards with the rhythm section being bassist Micah Olla and drummer Michael Morgan. Last Embrace is the band's first album and is combination of two previously released EPs. Despite the different sources, the album has a cohesive sound with only the drum sound being a tell-tale sign of different recording sessions. While I realize that the U2 comparisons will get old, these guys put a photo in their CD that is almost a copy of that on the cover of The Joshua Tree so they're asking for it.

The truth is, though, that The Joshua Tree is a great album and who could begrudge some young folk for taking it as an influence? Northern Room take the seminal U2 album as a starting point but eviscerate Bono's spiritual longings & introspection as well as his social commentary. What you're left with is a bunch of love songs. To wit: "Her body moves like a river", "Let me run away with you my dear", "Tongue-tied, torn in two but I'll remember you", "I'm torn in two", "The first time you and I were meant to be", and so on. You get the picture.

But if you can avoid thinking too much about large chunks of cloying lyrics, Northern Room do make some wonderful music which will either come across as a great tribute to U2 or a complete rip-off, depending on one's age. "We're on Fire" opens the album much like "With or Without You" with its jangly guitar and soaring chorus. Olla's fuzzy guitar break bursts in like a flame and provides another layer of dynamics to the song. The album largely repeats this formula which means there's no angry "Bullet the Blue Sky" nor does the band loosen things up with something akin to "Trip Through Your Wires". Ergo most of Last Embrace feels really earnest, almost too earnest to the point of parody. At the other end, the closer, "This Wreckage", is an anomaly as it features some great moody keyboards and guitar work that ably recalls vintage Pink Floyd.

However formulaic, the guys in Northern Room are more than competent musicians as their tight playing and Jonathen's dramatic singing attest. This is the kind of stuff that fills stadiums as it's not too simple yet never strays too far from pop formulas.