This is a review of the Four's albumn "Fallout" from the Wall of Sound website.

                The Mayfield Four
                Fallout              
                Label: Epic
                Genre: Alternative
                File Under: Honest and powerful debuts
                Rating: 75

                              "If I had a drink I'd drink it/ If I
                had a drug I'd take it," sings Myles Kennedy on
                "12/31" a track off the Mayfield Four's rather
                difficult, but often rewarding debut, Fallout.
                Kennedy possesses extraordinary vocal power for a
                modern rocker, similar to Soundgarden's Chris
                Cornell, only without the operatic range, or Jeff
                Buckley, without the arty pretense. (He even
                tackles Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" to close
                the record, with unexpected success.) And given
                that the Mayfield Four is a band full of his
                childhood friends, Kennedy owns Fallout, with his
                dominant voice, his turbulent thoughts, and his
                tactile guitar playing.

                The title track is driven by Pearl Jam-esque
                propulsion, as is "Shuddershell," a rather thick
                and abstract rocker with which to open an album.
                "Suckerpunch" is the most immediate track on
                Fallout and the one you'll end up singing, but
                it's not without its own melodic subtleties. On
                the more overtly introspective side, "Don't Walk
                Away" builds from a whisper to a frustrated moan,
                punctuated by an offbeat guitar solo, and "Big
                Verb" has some lush, acoustic moments before
                succumbing to bigger, slightly dumber noise.

                With its vague and buried hooks and overly
                emotive bandleader, it might take a while for
                Fallout to take hold. But before you throw your
                hands up and file it away, give the Mayfield Four
                a chance to cast their unusually moving spell.
                After all, isn't there room for at least one
                complex band among the ear-candy purveyors that
                make up most of alternative rock's recent
                arrivals? - Bob Gulla


                WALL OF SOUND: 
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