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Nic Armstrong has a bad case of déjˆ vu, but it's put it to good use on an album that approaches greatness. The 25-year-old rocker is the latest overnight sensation from England to take aim at the U.S. market with a sound drenched in the pop ethos of the '60s. Armstrong avoids the obvious pitfalls, largely by ignoring The Beatles and concentrating on bands like The Kinks, the Stones, Dave Clark Five, and Gerry And The Pacemakers. If you're a rocker of a certain age, Armstrong's tunes will bring a sharp pang of nostalgia. How younger listeners will react is anybody's guess, but his cherubic face and fragile, wailing tenor ought to drive the gals crazy. "Back In That Room" sounds like a vintage Kinks putdown, but Miles Wilson's guitar solo is pure postpunk agro. The folky "I'll Come To You" could be an obscure Peter & Gordon track, while "Natural Flair" brings Them to mind -- as fronted by a young Van Morrison that actually enunciates. On the classical side, Armstrong's cover of "Down Home Girl" has a zoom bass cribbed from "Satisfaction," a raggedy vocal that mixes '60s garage snot and 21st Century snarl, and a guitar solo built on the melody of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman." The bluesy Leadbelly stomp of "Scratch The Surface" and the hint of Tex-Mex on "The Finishing Touch" prove that Armstrong's influences run deep and wide. Once he learns to incorporate his influences in a less obvious manner, his potential should prove unlimited.
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