AUSTINS BRIDGE isn’t the usual type of music for me or even RockEyez to review but when we received it here at the RockEyez office I grabbed it as I noticed the production was handled by Jay DeMarcus who I happen to know is a member of Mega-country act RASCAL FLATTS. I actually have a soft spot for some modern country bands like RASCAL FLATTS and EMERSON DRIVE so I figured this had to be country too but as slipped it into my CD player and perused the lyrics I also noticed they had a CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) look to them also. So that is basically what we have here with “Times Like These”… a modern Country Christian act. If that isn’t you cup of tea you may not want to read on but if you like melody, great harmony vocals and uplifting messages to your songs wrapped in a slight modern country feel you may want to look into this group.

There is no doubt when you have a guy like DeMarcus involved with you that you can expect a quality record. The production is top-notch and the song writing and performances are second to none. The band certainly has a passing resemblance to RASCAL FLATTS without the heavy country “twang” you sometimes get with some of their material. AUSTINS BRIDGE is more rock than country to these ears but don’t get me wrong this is still a mellow record and influenced with many acoustics throughout. One tie-in to the melodic rock world would be veteran country session man and mega-producer Dann Huff (BON JOVI, MEGADETH, KEITH URBAN, etc.) who is formally of the AOR group GIANT. Huff supplies guitars throughout the record and again, if you have someone like him on your record, you can expect a quality product.

Like I said the songs are mostly on the mellow side but they feature the great vocals of Justin Rivers and Jason Baird and the solid musicianship of many session pros so what you get is ten highly polished tracks. Some of the more memorable tracks are “album opener “Angels”, the RASCAL FLATTS-tinged “Times Like These” and “Love Is On The Way” (where the band probably turns in one of the more “country sounding” songs on the record). This record isn’t gonna make you bang your head or want to enter the mosh pit like some of the other music featured on RockEyez but this is still a quality album to look into if you like some of the sounds I mentioned.