Once upon a time Rochester, NY was an attractive destination for hard rock bands far and wide, but over the years the city has gradually (like the music industry itself) become a fish gasping for life. Along with independent record stores closing shop and national tours going elsewhere, The Veins are one of the few local bands surviving in the dark crevices of Rochester’s seemingly dormant nightlife.

Constructed from a classic garage rock blueprint, Hollywoodland is The Veins second full album and quite frankly, it completely outshines every CD that I’ve been sent from bands that live all over the country. I’m so embarrassed that I only recently borrowed the disc from a friend who got it for free at a Veins show sometime last year. Here I am sifting through stacks of crap while Hollywoodland was right here in my own backyard.

“Black Flowers” might be the pop song Layne Staley never lived to write, “Walk Away” is 70’s KISS meets the Knack of the park, and “New Con” is Ramones tested and Stooges approved. The vocals are comfortably British sounding—like maybe if Nigel Tufnel could actually sing and Spinal Tap could be taken seriously. After repeated listens I can’t find a reason to skip songs or even change their order, and for several days I kept waking up in the morning with the catchy chorus playing in my head from “Everything Inbetween;” ‘all I want is a new day, and everything inbetween.’

I must admit that through mutual friends I’ve casually known Veins drummer Rob Filardo for many years (he’s also drummed for nearly every band in town). We speak sporadically, usually at obscure concerts or random late-night parties. Now I’m a bigger fan of his music than ever and sincerely applaud his efforts to keep rock alive in a city that knows its House of Guitars heydays are long gone. At any rate, Hollywoodland is hometown heaven.