Band has no Troubles with new album

“It’s About Time” (Crooked Cove) — The Troubles

The Troubles must be believers in second chances. Joe Brien, Joe Petty and Joe Donovan were all members of the leading ’80s Portland band, The Kopterz, and they’re joined by veteran musicians Rusty Gates, Jack Chance, Phil Gilikson and Joe Boucher.

But while The Troubles, named after the internecine warfare in Northern Ireland, are new, their sound is timeless. This is rock-inflected pop at its purest, almost a forgotten art in these days of machine-polished releases. Most of the 12 songs are of radio-ready length, if only tightly formatted radio were ready for them.

From the septet comes the mature voice of experience, world wise but not world-weary. The songs, written mainly by Brien and Boucher, offer messages of not only regret but also hope, all embedded in a tapestry of sonically memorable hooks. The only cover, Barry McGuire’s 1965 hit “Eve of Destruction,” fits right in musically with the rest of the album.

The Troubles come across as musicians happy to have rediscovered not just each other, but also the style of music that they hold near and dear to their hearts. It’s a sound that will endear itself to many rock fans, both those young and not so young anymore.

(“It’s About Time” is available at Bull Moose Records in Bangor and the Music Bar in Bar Harbor or at www.thetroubles.com.)

— Dale McGarrigle