BLURB - This genre bending record burst onto this scene in the UK last year and is just starting to gain some steam here in the states. The five-piece act of Iglu & Hartly formed while in college at Colorado and relocated to California to pursue their creative juices. Their sound has often been typified as surf rock by critics, but that is not really an accurate depiction. This record is really an imitation, manufactured MGMT sound, attempting to recreate that ‘synth-indie-pop feel,’ but without any of the folk influence. This should be great, but there’s just one problem, these white kids from Boulder think they can rap too.
RATING - 5.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - Consider this my throwback. Originally released in September of 2008, '& Then Boom’ quickly gained a following in the United Kingdom, with it’s first single, ‘In This City’ climbing up to No. 5 on the UK charts. The band has since re-released this album stateside in early May of 2009 hoping to cash in on some fairly substantial buzz abroad. Before I tell you why this record is a train wreck, let me start with what is actually really great with this album. After just one listen the audience will have every track stuck in their head. The music is incredibly upbeat and filled with dance beats set to a combination of synth-fused rock and indie pop tendencies. Further ameliorating this record is it’s use of the chorus. Nearly every chorus on this record is memorable, well-written and extremely catchy. The general sound of this album is not of this decade, or the last decade for the matter, yet Iglu & Hartly find a way to become relevant in today’s music market. The songwriting and musical construction is extremely clever and creative, yet remains simple and easy for the listener to comprehend. Rich bass lines, atmospheric keyboards, distorted guitars and dreamy sound effects can be found throughout all eleven tracks. ‘& Then Boom’ does a tremendous job of creating a bed of music within each song for the lyrics to fall upon.
The blatant discrepancy with this disc is the lyrics. Well, not the lyrics per se, but the delivery of the lyrics. I alluded to some tremendous musical creativity above, but this doesn’t mean anything if it is presented alongside a heaping pile of lyrical garbage. This is not and should not be a tacky, cliched rap record, but Iglu & Hartly find a way to completely destroy their sound with an endless barrage of hackneyed and annoying rap verses. It doesn’t fit. It’s the quintessential, ‘trying to fit the square peg in the round hole’ line. Only the few, and extremely talented can figure out how to fuse two entirely different genres successfully, and unfortunately for Iglu & Hartly, they find themselves lost in the majority of ‘good tries.’ Every song (musically) and every chorus, are almost spot on and show real potential, however they are each sandbagged and undermined by equally terrible verses and refrains. To the listener this is immensely disheartening. With such great highs and such regrettable lows, one can’t help becoming confused and tired with the tug-of-war between good and evil. If the band was able to nail the rap verses and genuinely sounded ‘fresh,’ this record would be an absolute home run. However, the rap and delivery of lyrics is extremely amateur with a distinct nasally and almost whiny voice and feel. It can almost be likened to a poor karaoke rendition of (insert any hip hop song) performed by a 15 year old from suburban America. Actually...have you ever seen MTV’s, ‘Made’ where the white high school kid who tries to be made into a hip hop superstar? It’s kind of like that.
Aside from what I have discussed, I sincerely feel that this is still a really, really good record. It’s clear how much I object to ‘& Then Boom’s’ lyrical delivery and raps, but with that being said, I still can’t put this album down. This speaks volumes to the amount of musical creativity and imagination that found it’s way on to the record. The clear favorites on this album for any listener will be, ‘Believe,’ ‘Violent and Young,’ ‘Tomorrow,’ ’Day Glo,’ and ‘In This City.’ With each song being equally parts brilliant and irritating.
Buy this record if you enjoy roller-coasters, dance beats, and ultimately being disappointed. I’ve never like MGMT as much as I do right now.
TRACKS
1.) Believe
2.) Violent and Young
3.) Tomorrow
4.) Build
5.) Day Glo
6.) In This City
7.) People
8.) Whatever We Like
9.) We'll See
10.) Out There
11.) Jump Out of Your Car
No comments:
Post a Comment