Music can be a surprise sometimes, because from a band that is formed just for spending some time for fun you can have something really good, in a moments when giants are babbling around doing the same thing in every release (and boring the patience of the fans). The French trio HIGHWAY 50 is a very good surprise, because a band formed by a PhD in Biochemistry, an IT specialist and a Government Officer, and they release a charming set of songs on "Couch Potatoe".

Their musical work can be labeled as a blend between Classic Rock/Hard Rock with Progressive Rock and Alternative Rock elements. It's nothing overloaded with instrumental technique, but focused in creating very good melodies, charming choruses and with the right amounts of musical aggressiveness and weight. Besides this description could be seen as 'nothing special', the difference is done by the trio's approach on their own music that is extremely personal. And it creates a very good release as well. The sessions of the recordings were done in a way that the band could take advantage of modern studio technologies, but in a way that the impression of a handcrafted work is playing on our sound devices. It's clean and tender, but with a rough touch that brings aggressiveness and weight.

On "Terminal Confusion", there is some Groove Metal/Rock abrasiveness, along with ethereal Progressive Rock keyboards (and a very good chorus); on "Deep in Your Eyes", there is an 80's Pop/Progressive energy (along with very good guitars and keyboards); "Fly Away with Me" presents a very good and charming set of melodies (and a Hard/Glam outfit as well); on "Gone Amiss", there are broken tempos and very good Progressive Rock melodies shown (what means that bass guitar and drums are doing a good work); and on "Like a Shooting Star", a fusion of elements from Progressive Rock, Hard/Glam and AOR can be heard, and the vocals are really great on it. These are the best ones, but the entire album is great!

They're a studio band, what means that maybe it's almost impossible to see a show from the trio. But HIGHWAY 50 shows on "Couch Potatoe" that fun and a lack of compromise when making music can be a great driving force.