What happens when you take an Australian band and infuse a mixture of Classic and Southern Rock into their music? The answer is a quintet called ELECTRIC MARY who this year release their new EP "The Last Great Hope" on Listenable Records. The band were formed in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia and so far they have 2 singles, 1 compilation, three studio albums and 2 EP's under their belt which will soon become 3. I've not listened to or heard that many Australian bands but the ones I have heard are actually pretty good but I want to know if ELECTRIC MARY are one of them. Let's find out shall we?

I guess I should start with what I said at the start of this article and that is the genres infused into this band. They technically class one of the styles of their music as Classic Rock but listening to this reminds me of a Finnish band I reviewed called THE MILESTONES and that was also a Classic Rock album but Southern Rock was also a genre of theirs too. ELECTRIC MARY are closely similar to that band as I can pick up the odd Southern Rock influences here and there in the music.

The first place I hear it is in the opening track "Sweet Mary" which in a few places utilizes the use of a harmonica which you would hear in something like a Southern Rock album. That's not bad of course by any means but thinking about it, a lot of Classic Rock artists i.e. AEROSMITH used the harmonica from time to time in their songs but I'm still going to class this as a Southern & Classic Rock album.

What are the other Southern Rock style influences I can detect in this? The most obvious point is of course the music as it's very soulful in the harmonies and melodies which you can hear in songs like "So Cruel" and "Nicotine". In one track you can also detect some Hard Rock influences as well and that track is "Welcome to the Other Side" which has been clearly written in a Hard Rock type style which I have absolutely no complaints about as I like heavy music.

That's four out of five tracks I've talked about and I've got one more left and that is the song "Almost Gone" which is the slow track on this EP and from start to end it's very soulful like the opening track for example and it's also very groovy as well which you can easily tell by the guitar melodies and the keyboards too as well as the rather funky bass lines.

You know, just by listening to this, I can pick up a number of influences and different styles in the music so it's really hard to pinpoint it down to one genre and style as I can spot a number of genres and styles in this. You know what? I like that as it's good to use a variety of styles and genres in your music as it adds a certain something to the music which makes it enjoyable.

Time now for that all important verdict. Listening to this really does remind me of that album I reviewed by THE MILESTONES and you know what? I enjoyed listening to that as I found it very soulful and the same applies for this new EP from ELECTRIC MARY. This is easily the type of record you could play over and over and never get tired of especially if you've got say an hour to kill before something so you can spin this three times to pass the time and continue listening to it on say an iPod on your way to say work or college. I would highly recommend this if you like a fusion of Classic Rock with other styles of genres and music and it's also highly recommended if you like soulful rock and roll.