Collectively, the 13 tracks of Before The Robots are Better Than Ezra’s
most polished and refined work since their 1997 release How Does Your Garden Grow. The sound, consisting mainly of guitar driven pop rock melodies and likable choruses, is similar to previous offerings from the band. Guitarist and lead singer Kevin Griffin is a solid songwriter who consistently manages to stay original with his work.

Worthy gems include “Hollow,” a guitar-happy song about the fates of three friends together since youth, the very catchy “Special,” a song that has been with the band a long time, and the stirring “Our Last Night,” a ballad about a lost love. There are also a few songs that won’t make it to radio, but deserve an honorable mention. One in particular is the strangely entertaining “Juicy,” which features a falsetto-voiced Griffin singing about supermarket tabloids (you will be clapping along by the end). Another is the powerfully rocking story of misguided youth, “Southern Thing,” a song that any born and bred Southerner will appreciate.

From start to finish, Before the Robots rarely stumbles. The album is a pop rock tour de force that never loses its soul, a complete gem.