sounds great, but it's less filling

Just Let It Go (Allen Martin Productions)

HGM

By Kory Wilcoxson

Roger Higdon, Brent Greco and Bill Miller needed a name for the band. They decided to save their creative juices for the music and Louisville-based HGM was bom.

The music is straight-forward hard rock filled with Higdon's snappy guitar riffs and Greco's competent drumming.

The opening song, "40 Hours A Week," is a blue collar ode to the working man and its follower, "Friends," rocks solid thanks to Higdon's guitar work.

HGM then shifts their focus a little. The next two songs — "Open Your Eyes" and "Pick Up Your Feet And Fly" — are ballads and the band shows a surprising ability to handle the slow tempo. This is nothing we haven't heard before from other rock bands, but HGM's execution is top notch.

HGM saves the best for last, showing they possess more than two dimensions, unlike many of their glamour rock brethren. "Let It Go" is a fast-driving tune that sports guitars and vocals that are sound so contagious they're almost Asiatic (the band, not the continent).

HGM's flaw is that they don't exactly mine new territory. Most songs follow a well-worn formula and the lyrics are sufficient but not inspiring. They prove the tools are there, producing one of the better sounding local recordings. Now they must merge that with a unique vision.