It's my prediction that, within the next year, the Pinehurst Kids will 1) sign to a major label, 2) release another well-produced, intentionally scruffy-sounding album, and 3) get just a tiny bit of radio and MTV airplay before 4) their label drops them and they 5) disappear forever. It's not that I'd wish such a senselessly stupid fate on any band, but that's the way I see things working out for the Pinehurst Kids.

When I reviewed their debut album, Minnesota Hotel, I used the word "potential" a lot, which is code for, "I actually don't like this much, but it's just catchy enough that I should probably give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they'll get better later." I also used the word "radio-friendly," which these days is more of an insult than a compliment; it implies that a band's songs are rather shallow, but just straightforward and catchy enough to appeal to a wider audience (read: the unwashed, non-Pitchfork-reading masses).

The fact that Viewmaster has a lower rating than Minnesota Hotel is more due to my naivete in overrating Minnesota Hotel than to any semblance of a sophomore slump. In reality, Viewmaster is the superior album, with the Pinehurst Kids sounding sharper and more polished in nearly every respect. But that just lends further credence to my above prediction; Viewmaster shows all the signs of a band being groomed for a major label. From the band's Jawbreaker-like transformation (quick analogy: Minnesota Hotel = 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, Viewmaster = Dear You) to the increasing industry buzz surrounding them. But my disappointment with Viewmaster isn't so much about them being labelled "hot new up-and-comers" as about how suited they are to play the part. With vague, angsty lyrics, muddy guitar overdrive, and Joe Davis' constipated growl, they're as about as edgy and dark as Silverchair or Eve 6.

While the Pinehurst Kids definitely have their own sound, it's mostly cribbed from other, better bands: a solid dose of Heatmiser here ("Don't Worry"), a touch of Weezer there ("Lumper" and "Trepidation"), and a bit of Superchunk and pre-Sparkle and Fade Everclear sprinkled throughout ("Evil Mirror," "Short Bus"). While it's oddly refreshing to hear such straight-ahead power-trio post-punk, it seems to have come along several years too late. And even if I'd heard it in 1994, I'd probably have thought it was too derivative to be any better than average. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if I turned on the radio some day in the near future and heard a Pinehurst Kids single blaring from my local modern-rock station. Not that I listen to the radio much anymore, of course.

-Nick Mirov