The Ruse

Add Date: March 23

Artist: The Ruse

Album: Love Sex Confusion

Label: Self-released

Genre: Rock

Comments: From the band's Web site:

"The Ruse have been known to deliver songs that will crawl into your head and take hold of your heart. Love Sex Confusion, the band’s fourth studio album of new songs, brings a blend of guitar-laden tracks and commanding drum and bass lines that generate the feeling of a live performance...Love Sex Confusion is equal parts of lead singer John Dauer’s powerful operatic vocals, guitarist Jim Bilus’ rocking garage-y guitar riffs, and the burly rhythms dispensed by drummer Jason Young and bassist Mark Stolze."

It's no surprise that these rockers opened for U2 at a Rose Bowl gig in L.A. There are traces of Bono in John Dauer's voice, but I use the word "traces" deliberately. At times, The Ruse seems to stretch toward the anthemic, which isn't always effective, but danceable tunes like "The Sweetness" work for me.