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Mitch Allan_Vocals, Guitars
Pat DeMent_Guitars, Vocals
Mike Ruocco_Bass, Vocals
John Allen_Drums, Vocals

eavy yet melodic, urgent yet introspective: Tomorrow, the new album by Baltimore/Washington natives SR-71 is a hard-rocking study in emotional and musical extremes. Co-produced by SR-71 frontman Mitch Allan, Neal Avron (Everclear, New Found Glory) and Butch Walker (Marvelous 3), the album compresses two years of intense life experience into one rapturously ambitious CD. The 11 original tunes featured here were composed during SR-71's 2000-2001 "Now You See Inside" tour, which saw the band performing their breakneck hit "Right Now" before thousands of new fans.

But while the tour provided SR-71 with a cherished, once-in-a-lifetime experience, it also exacted a toll. Singer-songwriter Mitch Allan ended a long-standing relationship and relocated from his native Baltimore to the edgier environs of L.A. The band parted ways with original drummer Dan Garvin and welcomed new timekeeper John Allen.

Fans that scratch beneath Tomorrow's crackling surface will discover soul-searching songs that go straight to the heart of the matter. Tracks like "My World" and "Hello Hello" explore the knotty complexities of romance, while "They All Fall Down" exposes the fear and insecurity behind macho posturing. On the foreboding "Truth," Mitch and his cohorts contemplate life in the horrifying aftermath of Sept. 11. "The smoke has cleared, but I can't breathe," he sings, echoing the sentiments of many people living in suddenly uncertain times.

Where songs like "Truth" and "They All Fall Down" examine the darker aspects of humanity, Tomorrow's title track urges fans to overcome their insecurities and live with fearless abandon. "It's about the inevitability of tomorrow," says Mitch. "If I do nothing to change my tomorrow, then I'm gonna be just as pissed and miserable as I feel today."

According to Mitch, Tomorrow's title track is the album's thematic nucleus. "This record isn't about anger or wallowing in misery. To the contrary, it's about making the decision not to be miserable. It's about trying to better your own situation and rising above your own emotional insecurities."

Tomorrow arrives on the heels of SR-71's debut album, Now You See Inside which was certified gold in 2000. Breaking from the boy-meets-girl conventions of modern rock, Now You See Inside found Mitch and his cohorts singing about everything from political correctness and fame to Paul McCartney. A host of effusive features and reviews followed in the album's wake. The Washington Post praised SR-71's "sparkling power pop," while the New York Daily News described the band as "classic rock inflected alterna-rock. Think Green Day meets the Beatles." The Richmond Times-Dispatch gushed: "In a genre that has become all too cliched, these guys are the real deal--if you want solid, original alt-rock."

With the recruitment of new drummer John Allen, SR-71's rock proclivities have become even more pronounced. A long-time friend of the band, he officially joined SR-71 in the middle of the band's first U.S. tour. "John arrived and the band instantly got heavier," Mitch says. "In fact, the biggest change from the first record and this new one is the power level, and that's largely due to John being in the driver's seat."

For his part, John says joining SR-71 could not have been smoother. "It's like family," the drummer says of the band. "The band is really tight and there's been nothing but a good vibe from the start."

As befitting a band named after the world's fastest spy plane ever, SR-71's 2000 single "Right Now" rocketed up the rock charts. Now, with the release of Tomorrow, Baltimore's finest establish themselves as the thinking person's band.