There was a time when this sound ruled the world. You know, the whole brooding rock with blistering riffage, oppressive harmonies and the occasional horn line. These days, there's not a lot out there past Pearl Jam and the Fighters that are Foo. Elliot Waits for No One has decided the time has come to increase the gene pool.

Elliot Waits for No One Elliot Waits for No One (Dark Star/Sony)

And it does so girded for battle. Vocalist Jenny Franck (you might know her song "Black Crows") has been under contract to Sony via Dark Star for some time, and so there's what suffices as a major label these days behind this. She has teamed up with Brian Troch (probably best known for Cyclone Temple, a band that made a few waves with this sound decades ago) and Jeff Tortora (a well-traveled drummer who was once a Blue Man). Actually, I have no idea who caught up with whom. And that's beside the point, anyway.

The band has named itself after Elliot Smith and Tom Waits. There are elements of Heatmiser (Smith's band before he found fame as a solo act), I guess, but the grunge elements on this album are highly modified. As for Tom Waits? Well, they think he's great. And they're right. But this is rock on a grand scale, and it really hits its stride when Troch and Franck combine their vocals. Franck's range is just slightly above Troch's, but her voice provides the steel that holds the songs together.

If you've got a jones for the days when rock and roll meant more means more (everything from Use Your Illusion to Ten to Mellon Collie), Elliot Waits for No One hits all the right notes without aping anyone. Franck's voice is pretty spectacular, and the musicianship is deeply satisfying. Is the world looking for big rock? I dunno. And I don't care. I'll just turn this one up to eleven and chill.

Jon Worley