What is the Trouble with Ferguson? Well, on the surface they seem like normal guys; inconspicuous, but for their modish fashion sense and stylish swagger. Quiet by rock standards, the members of T.W. Ferguson don't impose themselves on a crowd. You're more likely to find them shyly batting the hair out of their eyes in some corner of the room. But load their self-titled debut CD on your computer and soon I predict you'll be looking for excuses to take your iPod for a walk. Yes, but what is the Trouble with Ferguson? Descendents of such successful bands as Hawk Nelson, The Natural Anthem, and Out of the Monetary, Trouble with Ferguson is the progeny of an emergent "Barrie sound" whose nucleus finds itself at Jeff Wardell's Blue Box Studios. This is a rock unit consisting of Matt Hills on bass, Randy Simmen pulling lead guitar/ backup vocal duties, Johnny Simmen on drums with Jordan Dean rounding out the guitar assault, singing lead and playing piano. Okay, but what is the Trouble with Ferguson? Music is defined as the organization of sound. Well, these boys are very well organized indeed. Like a sonic can of Red Bull, the music of Trouble with Ferguson is energetic rock, with woven-in themes of identity, emptiness, relational regret and redemption. In short, what we have here is kinetic rock with maturity: a sound that rises above the din to accomplish what it sets out to do: create music with an edge. And there is a caustic, ironic edge to their music, as they throw indie rock, punk and emo into a blender to create dynamic, elegant anthems that swell and taper into muted piano refrains. Muted refrains inflate into wall-of-guitar choruses that propel you forward and back again. Bands like The Used, Sunny Day Real Estate, Juliana Theory and Further Seems Forever merely establish the musical borders over which Trouble with Ferguson is bound to trespass as they grow beyond the architects of their craft. With melodies built into intricate mosaics and a lyrical vigor that belies their age, the writing for Trouble with Ferguson is at once candid and sophisticated, laced with traces of insight and sometimes ambiguity. In postcard, we hear "your favorite postcard will be coming soon/ the one you wrote yourself that afternoon…." You can almost feel the rhythmic cadence to the chorus rising just by reading along. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll find their raison d'être: these guys have good things to say. There's a spiritual readiness that speaks to the nature of songs like wipe the tears which describes "the fire that changes me" or find me here which draws on a sense of spiritual longing and disconnectedness (and includes a poignant appearance by cameo king Jon Steingard of Hawk Nelson/The Natural Anthem fame). Taking inventory, what we see here is a solid band with unyielding moral principles, catchy-as-heck melodies and a bright, bright future. Record execs will be climbing all over themselves as two words take shape over this band: unrestrained potential. What is the Trouble with Ferguson, you ask? Ladies and Gentlemen, there's no trouble at all.