Birmingham, AL-based
pop/rockers
Moses Mayfield
(a five-piece band, not a solo act) offer a relentlessly polite form of mainstream
alt-rock
along the lines of
Train
,
Pete Yorn
, and -- in their peppier moments --
Maroon 5
. In other words,
The Inside
is glossy, superficially catchy, and almost entirely without substance. In fact, it lacks much substance even by the diminished expectations of contemporary radio fodder. Singer
Matthew Mayfield
is pleasant enough but almost entirely lacking in personality, and his forgettable vocals and lack of presence weaken the already fairly tepid charms of songs like forgettable first single
"Fall Behind"
and the overt
Coldplay
ripoff
"A Cycle."
While there's nothing particularly wrong with
, it's quite likely too bland even for
Clear Channel
. ~ Stewart Mason