12 Stones' third release, Anthem for the Underdog, finds the middling Louisiana-based quartet in good form. Although the record focuses too heavily on ballads and ballad-like pieces, the moments when the band steps out with thoroughly adequate rockers ("Anthem for the Underdog," "Adrenaline," "Games You Play") are memorable enough. The inspirational message at each tune's core comes across without painfully overt didacticism ("It Was You," "This Dark Day" and "World So Cold"). Many tracks are bound for rock radio glory and, doubtless, equal play in the cars, bedrooms and pricey portable listening devices of suburban American youth. 12 Stones doesn't reinvent pop music--it's still a cross between early Hootie and the Blowfish and a less inventive Jars Of Clay--but it does create memorable workaday compositions that are sure to satisfy the listener's desire to get in touch with the disparate emotions of hope and despair, and to feel more of the former despite the looming presence of the latter. Anthem for the Underdog will be 12 Stones' third album. It will be released on August 14, 2007. The first single will be "Lie to Me". The song World So Cold was used in a tribute video found on YouTube for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre shooting. In a bulletin posted on the band's MySpace page, the band said that they were surprised the song surfaced because it had not been released. However, the band members said they were "touched and humbled" by the video.
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Anthem For The Underdog - 12 Stones
