From The Arkansas Traveler
by Ed Corcoran, Assistant Music Director

Artist: American Princes
Release: Less and Less
Label: Yep Roc

In a just world, "Stolen Blues" would launch Little Rock's American Princes to the top of the rock world. Alternating between anthem-ish and brooding, and with a ripping guitar solo to boot, it's the first and best track from their new album Less and Less. But because this is not a just world, they'll just make a low-budget video for it and, if they're lucky, it'll get shown once or twice on MTV2.

After two albums on the Little Rock-based Max Recordings, the Princes have moved to the Chapel Hill-based Yep Roc Records for their third recording. Fans are counting on Less and Less to be the Princes' break-out album, so it's a good thing it also happens to be the group's best album yet. More personal and introspective than its predecessor Little Spaces, this CD is still crammed to the brim with the fist-waving rockers that made American Princes local favorites, while also expanding their palette a bit.

"Annie" brings in a string section to back up a moody ballad, while "You & Them" is a stripped-down acoustic number. The vocals on "This Is the Year" sound oddly like Travis Morrison of the Dismemberment Plan, but on "Breaks" the vocals sound almost like Interpol's Paul Banks, but less affected. In both cases, the songs echo the vocals, giving glimpses of the herky-jerky rhythms of the Dismemberment Plan or the restrained politeness of Interpol.

But the best songs, such as "Open Letter," "Never Grow Old" or the aforementioned "Stolen Blues," just stick to what American Princes do best: play pure rock music. Fans will cross their fingers and hope that the rest of America picks up on American Princes.

File under: indie rock.
For fans of: The Replacements, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Spoon