‘N Sync: No Strings Attached
‘N Sync—the boy band at the height of its powers challenging for preeminence—came out swinging on No Strings Attached. In 2000, the field was stuffed with poseurs, 5-boy clusters of meticulously groomed troubadours wearing matching costumes and doing choreographed little dances as together. After the dross was scooped, ‘N Sync and their arch-nemeses the Backstreet Boys remained the powerhouses of pop. No Strings Attached is clearly a cut above most of the drivel in the teen bop category, but even if it weren’t, it sold lots and lots of copies, and there’s something to be said for that.
Rating: * *
Kelly Clarkson: All I Ever Wanted
Ms. Clarkson has continued to distance herself from her American Idol beginnings, and her music has continued to improve. Despite my distaste for the pop style of All I Ever Wanted, I love the energy and appreciate the songs. Her charisma adds allure to even the worst of them. She’s upbeat, loud, and catchy. Other former Idols may benefit by following Clarkson’s lead and taking more creative control. However, many of these singers already sell plenty of tickets and albums and are supported by an amazing corps of dedicated fans (Taylor Hicks’ Soul Patrol and Elliott Yamin’s Yaminions, for example).
Rating: * * * *
Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit
Dear Catastrophe Waitress moved along so quietly and slowly. The Life Pursuit pushes the tempo and even includes a wild electric guitar solo on “We Are the Sleepyheads.” Belle & Sebastian’s jangly folk style wakes up. By keeping the acoustic guitars to a minimum, they manage to invigorate their brand of Scottish indie pop. It never stales or becomes mired in sentiment. At times Belle & Sebastian sound like they’re trying out for a hip TV show or teen movie soundtrack, but I don’t think this is on purpose. Oft imitated, these guys refuse to be duplicated, even by themselves.
Rating: * * * * *
Maroon 5: Songs about Jane
Wildly popular, Maroon 5 hangs tough with guitar-based radio rock. Songs about Jane was designed to dominate the alternative stations, filling the spaces between the Fray and Matchbox 20. The album is full of highlights: the chorus on “This Love,” the shuffling feel of “The Sun,” the relaxed groove of “Sunday Morning.” But the gasping vocals (I’m looking at you, “Shiver”) and the slick backing singers throughout are distracting. Maroon 5 manages to stand out among other radio poppers, but Songs about Jane definitely sounds as though it were constructed to sell the 3 million plus copies that it sold.
Rating: * * *
Brooke Hogan: The Redemption
“Hey, I think that robot is made of leather!” That is most people’s initial reaction to Brooke Hogan’s The Redemption. However, it turns out she’s just a really tan human who relies heavily on auto-tuning. But she is out for redemption. What better way to start the journey than with a song about “getting freaky” called “Strip.” It continues with a breathy series of juvenile songs about friends, tricky relationships, falling in love with kind-yet-worldly beaus, and, well, getting freaky. The content is what might be expected from, say, a second-tier faux celebrity who is famous primarily for being famous.
Rating: *
98 Degrees: 98 Degrees and Rising
1998 was a banner year for boy bands. By virtue of its name, 98 Degrees was destined to conquer the world in ‘98, much as the Monkees should have done in the Year of the Monkey. But boy band competition was too tight, and Lacheys, et al., rose no higher than #14 on the Billboard 200. This occurred despite the popularity of crooning white-boy R&B—its harmonies and vocal frills and the prefabricated high school prom background music. I thought “I Do” was a lovely way to end the album. Then it hit me: I was only four songs in.
Rating: *
Elizabeth & the Catapult: Taller Children
Elizabeth & the Catapult is an indie pop trio that plinks away at their pianos and acoustic guitars, alternating between jangly alternative and jangly’s quieter cousin, mellow folk. The focus throughout, however, is on singer Elizabeth Ziman, and Ms. Ziman is deserving of the attention. The songs themselves flirt with drudgery at times. “The Hang Up,” for example, sounds like a Dusty Springfield impersonator at a lounge in the wee hours. Luckily it is followed by the considerably more energetic “Hit the Wall.” “Rainiest Day of Summer” sounds like something from the Carpenters, which I guess is a good thing.
Rating: * * * *
Sugar Ray: Music for Cougars
Remember Sugar Ray the loud metal band? It died when it got the taste of success with “Fly,” “Every Morning,” and “Someday.” Music for Cougars imitates the style of these singles. In fact, in the chorus of “When We Were Young,” Mark McGrath reveals his songwriting formula: “All it takes is a song / with a hook and a line / And it’s bound to go up like the 4th of July.” Additional instructions could include “sing it with a croon” and “slide in a reggae beat to mix things up.” Clearly I am not one of the titular cougars.
Rating: * *
All Time Low: Nothing Personal
Big guitars, big choruses, three chords. That’s Nothing Personal. I like my emo bands more emo and my punk bands more punk (or punk at all, really). All Time Low sounds like every other Plain White Tee and All American Reject in town. It’s music by teens and for teens. As I understand it, they love Blink-182. If All Time Low is trying to emulate Blink, however, it falls short. The band lacks its hero’s humor and ability to produce a distinctive sound. They’re probably fun to see live. Recorded, they are doomed to a second tier of forgettable also-rans.
Rating: * * *
Tinted Windows: Tinted Windows
The composition of the Tinted Windows seems like the result of a drunken bet or an awful marketing gimmick. Throw Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos in with Taylor Hanson, James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, and Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and you’ve got a supergroup from the Island of Misfit Toys. It’s an odd assembly, but the pieces fit. None is overpowering and no single influence dominates, which makes the mélange sound like a band in its own right. The final output is eleven vanilla rock songs. They don’t embarrass themselves, which is itself a type of victory.
Rating: * *
