Jordan Millar and the Question – Lies in Translations – Released through Greedy Panda Records, March 27 2008

In the radio age where Kisschasy and My Chemical Romance dominate the charts, the marriage of pop and rock is often written off as unoriginal and uninspired – how many times do you need to hear some guy yap on about his pitiful love life whilst the same three-chord progression bounces dutifully behind it?

It’s about damn time something in the Australian scene showed the world that pop rock isn’t a dying art – and Jordan Millar and the Question’s debut album, Lies in Translations, might just be that something.

Laced with ethereal guitars, rolling keyboard ostinatos and catchy hooks that wouldn’t sound out of place blaring out of a teenage girl’s iPod earphones, Lies in Translations introduces itself subtly, fading in with the dreamy ‘Before We’ve Gone Too Far’ before a seamless segue into the John Mayer-esque ‘Lost My Way’. What follows is a tight collection of tunes varying from quiet introspection to raucous singalongs, all under the masterful command of singer/songwriter Jordan Millar, a real talent with big ideas and an even bigger voice.

Athough they have all the makings of mainstream pop, JMQ aren’t content with just that – these boys know how to shred the shit out of their instruments. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, they rip out epic jams that are reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band – but with more gusto. It’s this kind of musical explosiveness that got their single ‘Ride It All the Way’ noticed and used as the theme song for last year’s Perisher ads.

Lies in Translations is not a groundbreaking record but that’s okay because if it was, then it would defeat its own purpose entirely. What it does show is that mainstream pop can still be driven by an overwhelmingly intelligent force, one that understands that achieving the balance between mainstream accessibility and stellar musicianship is the key to success.