I find it quite interesting to come across a band these days that aren't determined to make some super niche form of Metal. It's kind of refreshing to hear bands that are still just making honest Rock music without any of the pretense that seems to be ever present in the metal scene as a whole.

JAILCAT are one of these rare bands and they have managed to create a wonderful hybrid of Classic/Hard Rock, Nu-Metal and other middle of the road styles. It's difficult to find a way to describe them other than that they are pretty easy listening and very unoffensive.

OK, so that may be a massive turn off for a lot of people but if you are looking for something that can be on in the background then you could do much worse than JAILCAT's debut album "Men Or Mice".

From the outset their influences can be clearly heard, the guitar riffs are dripping with AVENGED SEVENFOLD flair whilst vocal work blends a more Classic Rock style into the mix.

They have been working on the album for ten years and it is abundantly clear that this has been time well spent. Every guitar riff is well written and fits perfectly into the songs without being needlessly showy. The album has the polished tone and feel of a band that have been writing and recording for as long as these guys have and is much more professional sounding than a lot of bands that have been around for as long.

I'm not going to sugar coat it though, this is an album full of the kind of angst you would expect with anything inspired by AVENGED SEVENFOLD and the crooning ballad "Burning Pictures" almost made me want to dig out the eyeliner and write a poem about how much I miss my old toaster.

Odes to kitchen appliances aside, the album works with the major key quite a lot and there are plenty of feel good tracks to balance out the moodier element of the music. Tracks like "Addicted To Lies" and "Ofaafo (To The Sun)" serve as a nice uplifting change of pace.

If you are looking for something to sacrifice a toddler to then you have definitely come to the wrong place but if you would just like something that you can play while your parents come to visit then "Mice Or Men" is probably a good choice.