Olympian
Although they vigorously deny the influence, Gene should by all rights be forwarding their royalty checks to the Smiths. The parallels are obvious: lithe, crooning, chiming chords and pretentious song titles. Even the album cover could easily serve as the artwork for a Morrissey B-sides collection. And that's exactly what the music sounds like--standard-issue dysfunctional British rock. But don't count them out just yet. Gene muster up enough melodic clarity on tracks such as "Sleep Well Tonight" and "Haunted by You" to threaten future greatness.--Aidin Vaziri