Musicians start bands for all kinds of reasons; to get laid, to travel the world, to fuel their titanic ego but some - the best ones - start them because they have to. I have a feeling the lead singer of The Entrance Band, Guy Blakeslee is one of those people.

With a background in getting off their arses and making things happen, a definite message and some volcanically explosive riffs the numbers are stacking up in The Entrance Band's favour. A leg up from Thurston Moore, who took them on tour with his own Sonic Youth and went as far as signing them, has given them a deserved platform from which to impress.

Songs like 'Still Be There' remind me of a time when I bought albums and didn't get into them right away. All the same, I'd paid my money so they got another chance and in the end they turned out to be the songs and albums that stuck with me the longest. That is this self titled album's main strength.

Blakeslee plays lead guitar like some tripped out, shaman channelling, rock ghosts of the South whilst his singing hangs perfectly along with the bruising bass lines and solid, unfussy drums. Derivative? No, this is a far cry from Wolfmother. This music has a purpose and a drive behind it coming from people who really mean it. If it happens to remind you of Sabbath or Led Zeppelin then that's not a demerit, not when it's done like this.

Not shying away from the political forum 'M.L.K' is an old style piece with a simple sentiment - dissatisfaction with the status quo. That's right, a protest song! Written before the recent US elections but latterly altered to ask a question, Blakeslee is still unsure of the new regime and The Entrance Band want to remind us of a man who you really could believe in, one Dr.Martin Luther King.

That's not to say this album badgers you with rhetoric - not at all. On tracks like 'Grim Reaper Blues (Pt.2)' you are asked to do nothing more then come along and enjoy the ride, to get all kinds of lost in the 'Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)' like guitars and structure. 'That Is Why' follows hot on its heals and is, for my money, best in show here. All easy horizontal vocals and laid back guitar with a catchy hook and sing along chorus that you know is going to be something else live. The song is still tinged with a sadness and regret that lends it some real heart.

The maudlin flavour carries over into next song 'Lives,' which manages the kind of epic beauty Kings of Leon will never touch. The LP finishes out with a vast near on seven and a half minute 'You Must Turn' followed by a nearly as lengthy 'Hourglass' that keeps the mystic vibe seen in the cover art flowing along with the wide open spaces guitar lines.

The Entrance Band have created an album proper and invited you to go on a trip. It might take a while but the pleasure is in the journey.