3 ½ stars. The Box Social are an old-fashioned Midwestern rock band in the tradition of Soul Asylum (before they started sucking), the Replacements, the Magnolias and the Hang Ups. (Unlike all of those bands, however, they're from Madison, not Minneapolis.) This is no nostalgic college rock throwback, however, but a solidly contemporary indie rock album that would fit comfortably along the likes of the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, and the less bombastic side of the Arcade Fire. Unpretentious three-chord guitar pop tunes topped by Nick Junkunc's everydude vocals, on first listen the songs on Get Going seem like the kind of solid, journeyman bar band rock that sounds best in the background while downing pounders of cheap American beer, but every so often the subtle hooks and Junkunc's wry lyrics combine for something more bracing: right about the time the listener starts thinking that the verse melody of "A New Low" sounds awfully familiar, Junkunc casually tosses out the line "We come from Kingman, Arizona," a direct nod to the classic rock radio staple the Box Social are casually ripping off, the Steve Miller Band's "Rock 'n Me." Baldly plagiarizing a song so thoroughly uncool is its own form of coolness, and it's a vibe that Get Going has in spades.-AMG. The Box Social doesn't break any molds or follow trends based on well-timed hipster revivalism. Formed near Milwaukee in 2002 when its members were still in high school it's grown from teens playing local basement shows into a no-excuses, no-frills rock & roll band capable of holding its own on the national stage. Case in point: When it came time to record last year's Get Going, the Box Social left the friendly confines of its Wisconsin homeland and spent several sleepless weekends in Chicago, with the intent of producing a record that would finally capture the energy of its live sound. Going accomplishes that mission on songs such as "Big T," a timeless number full of big guitar crunch that tastefully channels the spirit of pop-punk royalty (Green Day) and power-pop godfathers (the Replacements). And at a time when too many musicians skip directly to mad scientist experimentation and pointless gimmickry in lieu of (gasp) actually learning how to play their instruments, that's enough to set a band apart.-Riverfront Times.
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