PRODUCERS: Steve Haigler, Mach Five
WRITERS: J. Darien, Mach Five
PUBLISHER: Charles Wagon, ASCAP
Island 7704 (CD promo)
What a pleasure it is to see this scrappy New York quartet
get a chance to transfer its acclaim as an indie entity into success in the major-label big leagues. The first single from the band's must-hear eponymous Island debut is a crazy-catchy jam that gradually builds from an introspective, almost sullen opening into a guitar-heavy, chant-along rocker. Produced by Mach Five with Steve Haigler, the track is meticulously layered and smooth enough for mainstream and modern rock radio, yet inherently loose enough to keep underground loyalists in tow. Actually, "I'm Alive" has the pop juice to go the top 40 distance. Programmers who are growing weary of matchbox 20 and the like needn't look any further.