Today I am on a soulful musical journey from Germany to Massachusetts and I have with me the most recent record from Melodrome. Released on their own Soultube Music label, the new album, 'Flood', aims to "make your 'soul rage' or your 'heart race'." Let's see how this now American-based German trio go about doing that.

Upbeat rock tones kick off this album mixing a little AC/DC and Aerosmith with a slight funkiness which produces some unexpected structures, making it interesting to listen to. More than this though they seem to drag in with it those 60s Brit rock sounds. The lighter gain on the guitars helps to accentuate this. Stir in the poppy harmonies over the song 'Complacent' and you're entering the ring with bands such as The Kinks. The short guitar stabs on the verses can even whip up some associations with more recent bands such as the Ordinary Boys or maybe more accurately the Strokes.

These harmonies are instilled in the soulful ballad, 'Enough', which witnesses the Stones at times flirting with Lou Reed. They can sleaze it up now and then too, turning up some grubby guitar which instil images dug up from the Berlin streets they originally hail from, most successfully with the songs, 'Shelter' and 'With My Friends'. The latter of the two is a particularly hard, snarling foot-stomper that at times sounds like a wrestling match between the Beatles and the Beastie Boys. 'Rock With Me' too exploits an upbeat tempo with great rhythms.

Listening to the album as whole, this is a strong record. Not every song on it is a killer however, and sometimes it can lose its way. It breaks through with much more conviction though when they nail their sense of rhythm. For me, it's that boogie rhythm of the Faces and the Stones that they have crafted well with their own style. When they play to their strengths, Melodrome produce enjoyable garage rock 'n' roll with a refreshing street sound.

www.myspace.com/melodrome