This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Since teen-pop is nothing if not formulaic, I’ve come up with my own formula for rating it. Here’s how it applies to Niagara Falls pretty boys Wave:
They get one star for writing some of their own material (Dave Thomson and Paul Gigliotti get credit on roughly two-thirds of these sugary-sweet pop-rock bon-bons). Then, they get another star for playing an instrument (Thomson strums a decent guitar). More important, they get a third star for having a spot of originality. Yes, a lot of Nothing As it Seems consists of the usual syrupy harmonies and romantic gunk you’ve heard time and again. But now and then — notably on the jangly single California, the piano-poppy Think It Over and the music-geek romance Until The Record Breaks — the boys stretch the teen-pop envelope beyond the usual glam-slam techno and shallow jailbait lust. Nice to see somebody swimming against the current.
