I was not familiar with THE ROCKFORD HEROES when I was given the CD for review. Upon popping it in the CD player I liked what I heard from the first track of this 5-song EP. “Streets Of Gold” starts with that classic Hammond B-3 organ sound, which is reminiscent of classic bands like DEEP PURPLE or URIAH HEEP. It seems you don’t hear enough of that these days in the rock music world. The band runs the gamut of sounds in the song as it comes off as a strangely tasty mix of DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW combined with 80’s rockers FIREHOUSE. Amazingly enough it all works though and it had me eager to hear what else they had to offer on the next four tracks.

The second track, “Embrace The Moonlight” seems at bit more repressed as the band attempts a smoother AOR sound. The underlining organ sounds are there but the song never seems to reach the heights of the opener.

Track number three, “Keep Away From The Sun”, opens with that vintage organ sound again and gallops toward a more urgent sound with an edgy guitar riff throughout. Unfortunately the following track “Love Lies Bleeding” takes another dip in standards. I think the band has an interesting approach with its melding of influences and sounds from classic to more modern but ultimately it may be a bit of a detractor also. “Love Lies Bleeding” tries to take a slightly more aggressive tone with a Euro-metal feel but it never quite gets to that level and leaves the song coming off a bit flat.

The final track on the EP, “Devil’s Eye”, brings some synth keyboard sounds of the 80’s pop world into the mix but the song again ultimately seems to fall short yet again.

I like some elements that THE ROCKFORD HEROES bring to their sound but maybe they are ultimately a little too all over the map? I feel if they concentrated on the vibe and elements of songs like “Streets Of Gold” and “Keep Away From The Sun” that they might have something here. They are certainly an act to keep and eye on if they can sharpen their approach a bit.