Plus One manages to make striving for credibility sound like fun on Exodus, the band's highly-touted rebirth album. The newly reforged trio has left behind the dance moves and bubblegum pop harmonies of albums past and taken control of their music in order to do something radically different: rock & roll the way it should be done. No tricks, no empty hype, no committee strategizing. Just music.
The result is something that's sure to take just about everyone by surprise -- even those quick to dismiss Plus One because of the boy-band stigma. Nate Cole takes over as lead singer, Gabe Combs plays guitars and Nathan Walters handles keys. And though Peter Furler and Jeff Frankenstein's production (the group co-produced) at times mixes in a few other elements like orchestration, that simple blend of vocals, keys, and guitars is the basic equation. The result is an album that will likely surprise and please old fans, and win over thousands more new ones. Highly recommended.
