The Bridges

Considering that they're making music that wants to hearken back to the sunny Californian sound of the late '60s, it feels like a missed opportunity that a band with three siblings sharing the surname "Byrd" didn't come up with a better name than the Bridges. Their debut album, Limits Of The Sky, tries to be the Mamas & the Papas but ends up being more Wilson Phillips. While that might necessarily not be the worst thing in the world, as they are quite talented at making pretty pop songs with nice harmonies, there isn't a whole lot of depth to their music, and that's the problem. It is remarkably polished, perhaps in part thanks to Matthew Sweet's production, but what it might have used more of is Sweet's songwriting quality to elevate it to a higher level. Still, the band are all in their early 20s, so perhaps the next album will be where all the pieces fall into place.