Sixteen Cities

Sixteen Cities
Centricity Music

It’s not really fair, because if they would have released this record five years, four years, even three years ago, they would likely be getting hearty applause for freshness and verve.

But since they didn’t — since it’s 2010 — the five young members of Sixteen Cities will likely be fighting an uphill battle to make a splash outside of their press releases. Not that it can’t be done. And not that the songs are bad — far from it.

They’ve got a good beat. They’ve got a good tone. They’ve got a good message. It’s just that they’re somewhat indistinct, not only from those by other tingle-tugging, pop-praise boy-bands that have cited Jars of Clay and The Fray as influences over the past five years, but even from the other songs on the band’s debut. That said, they’re very easy to listen to.