Tantric's latest less than orgasmic

After just one year, Days of the New singer/songwriter Travis Meeks fired fellow bandmembers Matt Taul (drums), Jesse Vest (bass) and Todd Whitener (guitar). The three gladly left to hire a new lead singer, Hugo Ferreira, and work alongside longtime Alice in Chains producer Toby Wright forming their new band Tantric. \nWith a songwriting collaboration involving all four musicians and shared backup vocals, Tantric's sophomore album distances itself from Days of the New with a less exotic sound. After We Go is full of straight-forward grunge rock with few frills. It's rock 'n' roll devoid of its current mixture with hip-hop, rap, techno and ochestral arrangements. Unlike hard rock bands such as Alice in Chains or Incubus if you want someone current, who implement soft melodious sounds about 15 percent of the time, After We Go is an even mix -- halfway between light rock giants Coldplay and metal maniacs Korn. \nTantric shows its Louisville heritage by infusing After We Go with a little bit of southern rock, including blue-grass twang and rockabilly rave-ups. This is especially apparent in "The Chain" and "Before." In general, the album grooves along much like "Hey Now," its flagship single, which has recieved radio and MTV airtime. While the album opens up solidly with the heavy "Chasing After," it concludes in a dissatisfying manner with the calm but lame "Awake." Despite lacking the trendy blending of popular musical genres and stumbling periodically, After We Go is generally entertaining.