It would be easy to dislike The Like. Akin to The Strokes, all three members have had a 'privileged' upbringing, with dads in high places (in the music industry, to be precise); so needless to say there's been no slogging or slumming during the trio's early days. Once you've listened to their debut album in its entirety, though, all suspicions of nepotism are firmly obliterated. For a band barely out of High School, The Like's sound is mature as it is assured, inventive as it is derivative. There's an underlying sonance of late 80s/early 90s pop, The Sundays in particular providing an auspicious influence - Elizabeth 'Z' Berg's vocals at times sound like an edgier Harriet Wheeler - but there's also an Avril Lavigne-esque modern twist and even a smidgen of riot grrrl here (What I Say And What I Mean). Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? easily flits between jangly West Coast Pop (Bridge To Nowhere, You Bring Me Down), heavy Rock Beast/new wave riffs (Under The Paving Stones, Falling Away, One Step Ahead) and effete ballads (So I'll Sit Here Waiting), but rarely gives the impression of the band having gone in over their heads. They're all here - The Sundays, The Pretenders, The Bangles, The Breeders and more - and though it's obvious that The Like are a band who wear their influences on their sleeves, all the same, they're just really.. likeable.
