MattyJam
Guests
Between The Lines Catchy as hell and definately sets the tone for the rest of the album. Good choice for a first single
Take A Load Off This reminds me of Purple-era STP. The verses are the catchiest part of the song. The chorus is quite anthemic and reminds me a little of Superman Silvergun. One of the best tracks.
Huckleberry Crumble This is very retro and 60s sounding. It's fun and inoffensive, but nothing spectacular.
Hickory Dichotomy Now we're talking! This is probably my favourite on the album. I love how Scott delivers the verses in that mock British accent. The "alright, alright, alright, c'mon" refrain is beyond catchy. And there's some awesome country and western style guitar work. Love it.
Dare If You Dare This is the first slower track on the album. I was a bit underwhelmed when I first heard this one, but it's definately a grower. It's very Beatles-inspired, I would even go as far as saying that the chorus is bordering on being a rip-off of Hey Jude. I love how the organ interplays with the electric guitar in the verses. Cool song.
Cinnamon A simple guitar riff repeats throughout as the main hook of this tender pop/rock song, which has a slightly melancholic feel to the melody. It's catchy if a little bit sappy.
Hazy Daze This one is a bit heavier than the previous few songs. Crunching electric guitars and angry lyrics about someone "selling out my name" etc. Musically it's reminiscent of something you would find on Velvet Revolvers second album. One of the better rockers on the album.
Bagman Yet another 60s-ish pop/rock number. A decent enough song with a memorable chorus, but a lot of the songs are starting to sound a bit samey now.
Peacoat Pretty forgettable and unremarable mid-tempo rock song. I've given this about four or five listens now and still can't really discern where the hook is supposed to be.
Fast As I Can This song is like a cousin to Between The Lines, and is very similar in places. It has a great energy and an instantly memorable chorus. The bridge reminds me a little of "we ain't got nothing to hide, hide" from VR's Just Sixteen. But this track is a lot better.
First Kiss On Mars This is a blatant Bowie-pastiche, with lyrics that namecheck Modern Love and Drive-In Saturday and Scott even imitates Bowie's vocal stylings. Catchy verses with a disappointing chorus.
Maver I always look forward to the final tracks on STP albums (Atlanta, Where The River Goes, Kitchenware & Candybars - all amongst my all-time favourite STP songs). Unfortunately this doesn't live up to any of their past album closers. It's a fairly bland accoustic mid-tempo affair which plods along sweetly, but doesn't really go anywhere interesting.
Overall - It's a bit disappointing. There are a few fleeting moments of brilliance (Hickory Dichotomy, Hazy Daze, Between The Lines) but the whole 60's pop/rock vibe gets a bit samey after a while. It's definately their most straight-forward pop/rock album to date. What made albums like Tiny Music and Shangri-Ladeda so interesting were the mix of catchy pop singles (Big Bang Baby, Trippin On A Hole, Days Of The Week, Hollywood Bitch etc) with more trippy experimental tracks like Adhesive, And So I Know and Hello It's Late. There's nothing on this album which you haven't already heard from the boys.
It's all a little predictable. It's worth checking out, but I can't imagine it ranking highly with the fans in comparison to their previous work.
Take A Load Off This reminds me of Purple-era STP. The verses are the catchiest part of the song. The chorus is quite anthemic and reminds me a little of Superman Silvergun. One of the best tracks.
Huckleberry Crumble This is very retro and 60s sounding. It's fun and inoffensive, but nothing spectacular.
Hickory Dichotomy Now we're talking! This is probably my favourite on the album. I love how Scott delivers the verses in that mock British accent. The "alright, alright, alright, c'mon" refrain is beyond catchy. And there's some awesome country and western style guitar work. Love it.
Dare If You Dare This is the first slower track on the album. I was a bit underwhelmed when I first heard this one, but it's definately a grower. It's very Beatles-inspired, I would even go as far as saying that the chorus is bordering on being a rip-off of Hey Jude. I love how the organ interplays with the electric guitar in the verses. Cool song.
Cinnamon A simple guitar riff repeats throughout as the main hook of this tender pop/rock song, which has a slightly melancholic feel to the melody. It's catchy if a little bit sappy.
Hazy Daze This one is a bit heavier than the previous few songs. Crunching electric guitars and angry lyrics about someone "selling out my name" etc. Musically it's reminiscent of something you would find on Velvet Revolvers second album. One of the better rockers on the album.
Bagman Yet another 60s-ish pop/rock number. A decent enough song with a memorable chorus, but a lot of the songs are starting to sound a bit samey now.
Peacoat Pretty forgettable and unremarable mid-tempo rock song. I've given this about four or five listens now and still can't really discern where the hook is supposed to be.
Fast As I Can This song is like a cousin to Between The Lines, and is very similar in places. It has a great energy and an instantly memorable chorus. The bridge reminds me a little of "we ain't got nothing to hide, hide" from VR's Just Sixteen. But this track is a lot better.
First Kiss On Mars This is a blatant Bowie-pastiche, with lyrics that namecheck Modern Love and Drive-In Saturday and Scott even imitates Bowie's vocal stylings. Catchy verses with a disappointing chorus.
Maver I always look forward to the final tracks on STP albums (Atlanta, Where The River Goes, Kitchenware & Candybars - all amongst my all-time favourite STP songs). Unfortunately this doesn't live up to any of their past album closers. It's a fairly bland accoustic mid-tempo affair which plods along sweetly, but doesn't really go anywhere interesting.
Overall - It's a bit disappointing. There are a few fleeting moments of brilliance (Hickory Dichotomy, Hazy Daze, Between The Lines) but the whole 60's pop/rock vibe gets a bit samey after a while. It's definately their most straight-forward pop/rock album to date. What made albums like Tiny Music and Shangri-Ladeda so interesting were the mix of catchy pop singles (Big Bang Baby, Trippin On A Hole, Days Of The Week, Hollywood Bitch etc) with more trippy experimental tracks like Adhesive, And So I Know and Hello It's Late. There's nothing on this album which you haven't already heard from the boys.
It's all a little predictable. It's worth checking out, but I can't imagine it ranking highly with the fans in comparison to their previous work.
