If there's one thing that bands like The Beach Boys have taught us, it is that California is a land of sunshine, surf, and attractive people in skimpy clothing down at the beach, not at all a land of political corruption, corporate downsizing, and power shortages. They've also given us a bucket load of annoying Californian bands who embrace this stereotype, playing sun-drenched blissful pop music that ends up annoying people more than chilling them out. Dios are almost an annoying band like this, although luckily they've got just enough talent and originality to make them worthwhile listening.

After listening to this record, it comes as no surprise that the two vocalist/guitarists in the band are brothers. Not only are their voices exceptionally clean-cut and clear, but they can also harmonise in that way that only siblings can. Vocal harmonies play a big part in Dios' music, something that can be easily traced back to Brian Wilson. Dios seem to have an unnatural fascination and admiration for Wilson, and their music, particularly their harmonies, owe a lot to him.

We should discount the contributions of the other band members though, who take Dios from being an indulgent tribute-band and introduce a little bit of fresh air into the band's sound. Keyboardist Jimmy DeVaca in particular, while not extraordinarily technically gifted, manages to come up with some bouncy, catchy sounds from his instrument, which usually ends up being a dramatic improvement to the song. Look at opening track Nobody's Perfect for a perfect illustration of this, the synthy noises that open the song, and the occasional twinkles of keyboard during the mostly acoustic verses, turn a mediocre song into one that works well on a variety of levels.

Regrettably, the whole album is not quite as good as the opening track. While the band pack a fair bit of variety into this album, they never stray far outside ground already extensively covered by Brian Wilson and his legion of followers. Tracks like All Is Said And Done act as nothing but tired re-hashes of old ideas that have been done better before.

Whether Dios are unoriginal and derivative, or conservative and respectful is a matter for the listener to decide. What can be stated though, is that their debut album isn't a bad effort by any means, just one that needs to work a little harder on escaping the musical clichés endemic to Californian pop bands.