Lemon Parade

07/16/1996 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Sandy Masuo

This L.A.-based quartet suffers from a simple but maddening malaise: the sound they've cultivated is far more engaging than the bulk of their songs. Beefy but sensitive, brimming with hefty guitars and bitter-sweet tunefulness, every track here opens with unguarded appeal. Unfortunately, most of them then proceed to pace around in mid-tempo circles, emoting but not articulating. Unlike Bad Company or Collective Soul (who employ many of the same sonic ingredients) Tonic has a tough time making the music gel into compelling compositions. With the exception of a couple tracks (notably "Open Up Your Eyes"), most are forgettably innocuous at best and annoyingly contrived at worst. They valiantly introduce elements that suggest substance (lyrics that attempt to tackle social issues, musical allusions to Zeppelin, U2, R.E.M.), but without a more concrete sense of purpose, all but the strongest doses of Tonic are hopelessly flat.