If Neil Young and Thom Yorke had a baby and forced him to listen to Stereolab everyday, he’d grow up to be just like The Epochs. I don’t claim to know anything about the inception of brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay, but their two-man sound experiment turned four-piece extravaganza (via bassist Kevin Smith and drummer Kotchy) is nothing short of revolutionary. Every once in a long while you hear an album that stimulates forward thought, a band that reaches beyond the varying degrees of their predecessors and turns elusive into evolution. It’s the electronic musicianship of Generation Next infused with Euro-Pop melodies and organic Rock and Roll hooks catchy and thought provoking enough to send the Gallagher brothers digging for their eighth-grade synthesizers. From the trippy, high-floating vocals of “Opposite Sides” to the acoustic strumming of “Head in the Fire” or the southern-rock drive of “Thunder & Lightning,” this album is as consistent in theme as it is varying in style. Finally someone has recorded a truly progressive album that doesn’t sound like a pack of brass horns barking at each other. Bottom line: beyond talent, which hovers over The Epochs like a divine raincloud, great music is about the emotion it provokes. And The Epochs self-titled debut is a dreamscape of good vibes. – Daniel McDermott
CD Reviews - JerseyBeat.com 
