Like the classic sports movie Rudy, Ghost Heart’s debut effort The Tunnel is filled with heart and passion pouring out of every pore. Sadly, though, the only other thing The Tunnel shares with Rudy is the feel-good ending. Rudy ends in triumph, and this album ends with a sense of relief that this 40-minute monstrosity has ended. Either way, you still feel warm inside, even if it is from the sheer visceral pleasure of this album being over. It’s as if The Tunnel tried too hard to meld the vocals of Passion Pit and Silversun Pickups with the mellow rock vibes of Vampire Weekend, leading a product of bizarre vocals over pale sounding, repetitive music. “No Canticle” is a prime offender, clocking in as a seven-minute long track filled with overtly repetitive beats and unintelligible vocals. The problems with “No Canticle” are the problems of the entire album: too much is thrown into the music and none of it comes out sounding any good. The Tunnel isn’t any fun, and the only emotion it invokes is anger that you actually took the time to listen to it.

(Friction Records, PO Box 6605, Grand Rapids, MI 49516)