The Living Blue is a little bit of The Shins, a little bit of The Strokes and a whole lot of rock 'n' roll.

The band is a little behind on the garage rock train, but proves itself worthy with "Fire, Blood, Water," its first release under the new name The Living Blue.

The album opens with "State Of Affairs," a song with a slow start that quickly gives way to traditional rock roots. The second track is melodic rock complete with catchy drums and rock riffs.

"Tell Me Leza" is more pop than many of the other songs and has an '80s rock/pop sound. "Serrated Friend" could easily be a song of The Sights with that familiar unpolished, gritty guitar and drum beat the band is known for as well.

If all the garage rock bands that emerged during the earlier part of this decade collaborated, they would probably create an album similar to "Fire, Blood, Water." The Living Blue blend a mishmash of rock styles together.

The lyrics aren't anything spectacular, but no one will be paying much attention to them anyway because the music outshines the vocals on most of the tracks.

Songs that stand out are "Murderous Youth," "Serrated Friend" and "Conquistador," which is an interesting bluesy rock song. The rest of the tracks sort of fuse together without much differentiation.

The Living Blue is best suited for a dirty hole-in-the-wall bar or small club atmosphere where the band's breed of rock will be appreciated. Lead singer/guitarist Stephen Ucherek said it best when he said "it's just rock 'n' roll, we're not pushing any crazy boundaries."