Is The Answer the answer to the ailing music business?

That might be a tall order, but 2009 is set to be the year for The Answer, a group of retro rockers that have been making waves ever since their formation in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

They've just released the EP "Never Too Late" to capitalize on the buzz they've generated from mentions in Rolling Stone and high profile supporting gigs they've landed recently.

Lead singer Cormac Neeson is more like the lead screamer of the band, hitting notes only heard by dogs and hummingbirds on "Never Too Late."

He has the long red hair, boyish looks and luxuriant mutton chop sideburns of Rory Gallagher, but a voice that sounds like Sammy Hagar if he gargled with glass instead of that God-awful Cabo Wabo tequila he peddles nowadays.

"Never Too Late" opens with a stinging solo that sounds like angry hornets trapped in your headphones. The EP is a blur of bluesy howls, angry riffs and thunderous drums.

"Highwater of Hell" has a swampy riff and spidery solos that remind you of another time, when spandex pants and big hair went together like chocolate and peanut butter.

"We carry nothing/nothing but the pain we felt/you treated him like a red headed plastic child/you gotta dig a whole lot deeper to get inside my twisted mind," screams Neeson above the ruckus.

"Come Follow Me" is a track from a recent live gig in Japan, and as the band cranks up the volume you can almost feel the smoke from the smog machine envelope you.

Neeson, Paul Mahon (guitar), Michael Waters (bass) and James Heatley (drums) brings the listener back to the old school record listening experience. That's right, people, I said record - this is music deathly allergic to shiny CDs or iPods.

To prove the point, the band has been making a name for themselves at European festivals supporting classic rock legends like Aerosmith, Whitesnake and the Rolling Stones. They are rapidly building a fan base here in the States with their opening slot on the AC/DC Black Ice tour.

Alas, classic rock's new digital home seems to be on the Guitar Hero video game series nowadays. My daughters can reel off the solo of Santana's "Black Magic Woman" using colored buttons on the faux guitar fret like nobody's business!

The Answer has gotten their music within that video game franchise as a prelude to their new record, "Everyday Demons," which is set for a February release. "Everyday Demons" was recorded in LA earlier this year with producer John Travis (Kid Rock, Buckcherry, Static X) for five weeks at Seedy Underbelly Studios.

"It sounds like the four of us playing live in a room," says Mahon. "It's a little rawer and punchier than what we've done before, with better songwriting, better playing and big, anthemic songs."

They might be raw, but that is not necessarily a good thing in every case.

Neeson unleashes his best Axl Rose impression as he screeches his way through a cover of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion," completely pulverizing the sly nuances of the lyric in this slice of karaoke hell.

There is absolutely nothing new about The Answer, which I guess might be the answer to the ailing music business after all. With unit sales in the tank, record labels can ill afford to take chances with new talent.

The Answer operates in the frequency of the Black Crowes - bluesy, safe, retro, and entirely predictable. It might have all the weight and artistic integrity of froth on a Guinness, but it goes down just as well.

This band is fun in some levels and has chops and talent to spare, but one can only hope the new album would drop the more overt references to the past in favor of forward looking music.

For more information, log onto TheAnswer.ie.