The Finals - Plan Your Getaway

Genre rock Publisher Immortal Records External Links Official The Finals Website Official Immortal Records Website

The Finals' cover art for Plan Your Getaway shows UFOs invading the Earth and reaping destruction upon the planet. But it wasn't a spaceship filled with aliens that abducted me, but rather a proverbial time machine that took me away to another place for a while. And it was a very good trip.

I actually found myself reminiscing about concerts and albums from the past 25 years while listening to this CD. One memory in particular was the 1981 album Fire of Unknown Origin by Blue Oyster Cult with the classic hit "Burnin' for You." I am guessing that this particular album ended up in the record collection of one or more of the members of The Finals' parents. Considering the average age of the band is 24, the other artists that could have played a part in forming the band's sound are The Cars, Metallica, Blondie and The Buggles.

The Finals are a tight unit, with high energy and enthusiasm. The strengths of Plan Your Getaway are the catchy, riff driven and radio friendly songs. In my opinion, some of these tracks are ready for mainstream FM radio, however with all the corporate ownership of major market radio nowadays, a better launching point for the band would be college radio across the U.S.

This musical blend known as The Finals from New Jersey impresses musically with strong vocal harmonies and straight forward drumming. Lyrically however, not so much. They did take me into their world on the cuts "They'll never Know," "It's always Something" and "An Illusion called Circumstance." On the last two songs, "Lighting and Fireworks" and "Black Market Babies," the dynamic takes a sharp departure when suddenly the somber and dreary tone of the final cuts caused a crash. But, if the band is as tight and electrifying onstage as they are on this CD, it will be a smokin' time for myself and the rest of the audience.