Pomeroy

There's something to be said for being in the right place at the right time. But if you're a funk-hip-hop outfit based in Kansas City -- like local boys Pomeroy -- you might as well scratch both off your wish list. Building an active fanbase on the less-than-glamorous Midwest bar and club circuit is typically easier said than done -- unless you have a hook. And with Identity going national, Pomeroy does. Building on a previous EP, the five-piece beefed up the track list by adding four new live cuts -- the bread and butter of a band that has built buzz with its live show. A band gets only one debut release, for better and worse. In this case, Pomeroy slips, with the sort of crotch-cradling lyrical posturing that peppers "Identity," "Vocal" and "Labor of Love." But on "Soundtrack" and a remarkably convincing cover of Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke," Pomeroy's potential is given its proper due. And for a band apparently built for radio (comparisons to Maroon 5 are fair), the whole right-place, right-time debate starts to become moot because, as Identity proves, Pomeroy is already moving in the right direction.