Young Love, 'One of Us'

Release date: April 28, 2009
Record label: Island Def Jam
Official Web site: http://www.myspace.com/younglove

The buzz: With his first album, 2007's “Too Young to Fight It,” songwriter Dan Keyes impressed Entertainment Weekly and Billboard with his expressive, of-the-moment brand of electro-heavy rock under the name Young Love. That album didn't make a huge commercial dent, but Keyes hasn't given up: “One of Us” is the follow-up.

The verdict: Utilizing a format perfected by everyone from Cobra Starship to the Faint to (especially) Head Automatica, “One of Us” is stuffed with soaring guitars (“Black Boots”), hand-clap choruses (“Get Me Up”), and '80s-era synth-bass grooves (“Can You Hear Me”). What it's lacking, though, is any semblance of originality; Keyes is content to rip off those bands (as well as other, more mainstream acts—his vocals often call to mind Incubus' Brandon Boyd) without really adding anything of his own to the mix.

Did you know? Keyes has gotten his original band, the more-rocking Recover, back together for a few shows this spring and summer.