Exit

"Don’t Push,” the first of 12 tracks on the Exit’s second full-length record, is a near-perfect mixture of reggae rhythms, pop smarts and aggressive instrumentation. Every bit as good as anything that pretty boy Sting ever committed to tape, the song’s inspired and memorable melody soars over a syncopated, driving musical bed. If the song fails to make you walk a little funkier, bop your head, or full-on get down in a busy intersection, you’re probably clinically dead. But what the hell is going on with the other 11 songs? It’s as if the band blew their load prematurely and limply tried to throw together a complete record out of half-finished ideas and boring production sounds. "Back to the Rebels” is like watching a bar band of 40 year-olds rock their way through a totally bogus fusion number, while "So Leave Then” cribs its chorus from "Under the Sea” of The Little Mermaid. This would have been a world-class seven-inch.