It's safe to say that most eyes on the Animalhouse's first proper release are ex-Ride fans who were inevitably let down by their blunder of a swan song, 1996's Tarantula. Ride seemed to be on a slow descent from 1990 onward, culminating in a bland, retro-addled LP that Lenny Kravitz could have crafted in his head while standing in line at a Versace outlet. Four years after the dissolution of Ride, guitarist Mark Gardener and wonder drummer Loz Colbert finally put out their first official release under the Animalhouse guise, along with Supergrass associate Sam Williams and a cast of others. Somewhat of a disappointment, Small is merely decent. What it has in expertly played modern rock and well-written songs is muted by lack of imagination. Since the nucleus of the band has been known to be capable of much more in the creativity department, the three songs here are a bit of a letdown. Gardener's voice, which has a hell of a lot more range than it did while he was in Ride (thanks to vocal lessons), is far more emotive, but he still seems oddly compelled to keep it under wraps; he sings lead on What Happened to the Future?, but his thunder is more or less stolen by background vocals. Colbert's dexterous limbs have been sorely missed, and hearing him pound the skins again is a very welcomed thing. But aside from a fine instrumental that closes this out, he doesn't get a chance to really let loose. Even if heard through the ears of a non-Ride fan, Small sounds tentative -- like a band that isn't willing to let their ideas roam free. The spirit is there; they just need to take the training wheels off and let 'er fly. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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