Review by Doug Cornell

The word "Studebaker" conjures up images of men in fedoras driving their family to the Methodist church on Sunday morning.  But put the Monroe, New York rock outfit Studebaker Brown in the car stereo and you'll be dealing with some serious audio horsepower.

This competent four piece band will be quite popular with fans of Semisonic and Jimmy Eat World.  The songs favor an earnest mid-west style that are perfect for an ending montage on your favorite television show.

The four tracks available from the band's MySpace page begin with  the rocker "Seven Years," which cooks up a good head of steam with driving guitars and interesting vocal melodies.  "What You Already Know" is right out of the "Closing Time" power-ballad playbook.  Beginning with a quietly strummed electric guitar, the song adds heartfelt vocals, then builds to a nice mid-tempo crescendo.  The song's emotional content is sure to bring out the lighters at live shows.

Next up is "Goodbye," which cleverly dispenses with the standard rock vibe of the first two tracks and veers into a slightly experimental vibe that will excite the more creative members of the listening audience.  With guitars alternate between jagged riffing and eerie soloing, this song might indicate a more interesting direction for the band.

The best track in this collection is "Dirty Miles."  The guitars are allowed to run wild in a nearly shoegazing manner for a few moments, the tempo changes, the vocals kick in, then the guitars blast back into the front of the mix.  The song makes no attempt at creating a vocal hook, but it all of the pieces come together to create a memorable sonic experience.