Army of Anyone, Anybody?

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The term "supergroup" tends to make me cringe. Invariably, so-called supergroups are either made up of former members of existing bands well past their prime, or of survivors of rock and roll suicides. They're damaged goods either way, and all the hype labels bestow on them can't change the fact that the supergroup is just going through the jaded motions.

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Fortunately, the members of Army of Anyone are just obscure enough to skirt through the corporate hooplah and create a solid rock album. Don't get me wrong--Army of Anyone are seasoned musicians. Vocalist Robert Patrick cut his musical teeth as a member of the original Nine Inch Nails touring band, and went on to form Filter. The DeLeo brothers--Dean on guitar, and Robert on bass--were largely responsible for Stone Temple Pilots' sound. And drummer Ray Luzier is a session musician who worked with David Lee Roth, among others. If there's a commonality among them, it's that none of them are strangers to arena rock.

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On their eponymously titled debut, Army of Anyone offer no apologies regarding that fact-- rather, they wallow in it, and come out slugging. This is a paean to the hard rock of the early seventies, replete with overwrought vocals, meandering guitar runs and straight to the gut percussion. It could easily have been a disaster, but somehow, the band manages to pull it out of the hat. What makes it work is the underlying tone of cynicism that permeates the album. They're not playing it for the burnt-out rock star premise that bands like Velvet Revolver make their stock in trade, and they're not playing it by the numbers, either.

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Army of Anyone succeeds because of the sense of passion that runs throughout the entire affair. This is an album that celebrates the tradition of hard rock, with elements of the Who ("Ain't Enough"), Pearl Jam ("Father Figure") and even Stone Temple Pilots and Filter peeking out of the past to give it credibility. It's hardly a work of lasting significance, but it does rock--and quite well.

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Is it derivative? Hell, yes. It's an album that's going to remind you of every little rock and roll bar you ever hung out in, tipping those waitresses and bartenders, "because they're workin' real hard just for you."? Obviously. Does it really showcase the bandmembers' individual strengths? Of course not. As I said from the beginning, "supergroups" never do that. But Army of Anyone unabashedly lays down eleven tunes that evoke the spirit of arena rock--loud, pseudo-sensitive, pseudo-meaningful, punctuated with power chords and pounding drum runs.

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When you put it in those terms, Army of Anyone are, for want of a better term, one kick-ass band.