Offtrax
"Too Long"
Independent

     The First Thing you need to know about the local band Offtrax is that they take rock music seriousely, though not quite as seiouley as a heart attack. Several members of the band, after all, are cardiologists and surgeons, including lead singer and guitarist Ted Friehling, who apparently revels in pop, rock and funk music when he isn´t seeing patients.

     Along with fellow vocalist Statcy Ann Cohen, who´s drawn to the folsier side of the rock equation and sounds a lot like Stevie Nicks on the acoustic ballad "Step Off The Edge," Friehling is largely responsible for making certain the band´s debut alvum is, well, a cut above the average.

     After getting off to a wobbly start with "Lonely Girl," a retro rock track that sounds more affected and affecting, the band settles into a series of agreeable grooves carved out by rhythm guitarist Aldo Esposito, bassist Bryan Raybuck, keyboadrdist Al Del Negro and drummer Glenn Shuster. Horns are added to "Funky Blues," which generates a performance worthy of the tune´s title, while Cohen´s mystical lyrics and Friehling´s romantic balladry keep things form getting a bit too loose. No new ground is broken, but throughout "Too Long" Offtrax has no difficulty demonstrating the joy and satisfacton that a little moonlighting can bring.

– Mike Joyce