Pop Trash
They're still around? I was as shocked as anyone, given their fairly dismal last few outings. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, which is due out the middle of next month. There may not be a Reflex or Girls on Film on this one, it's certainly a solid and remarkably hip group of tracks from these aging 80's icons. I was surprised at how up to date it sounds while paying heavy tribute to the groove of the 60's, they're almost an angry young band!
It starts off with the strong Beatles-esque Someone Else Not Me, a nice bittersweet ballad. Lava Lamp is a pointless update of 60's dance rock, the chorus is far more sugary than the most egregious of the Monkee's efforts. They redeem themselves with the next track, Playing with Uranium. Which is manages to still keep the 60's tone but edges it with a very late 90's sensibility. Goo Goo Dolls meets Herman's Hermits maybe. As far as titles go, Hallucinating Elvis wins. Imagine the best of psychedelia rockin with a NIN guitar and a hint of techno backing. Sadly the momentum is lost with the slow and dreary Starting To Remember. Again they redeem with Pop Trash Movie, which drops 60's pretensions and is solidly in the now, though ironically the lyrical content can be said to apply equally to the 60's pop culture.
Mars meets Venus has the potential to be amazingly trite and cliche, but manages to overcome that nicely (at least until the chorus). Lady Xanax sounds like it is trite and cliche, but the lyrics are far stronger than the music would lead one to believe. The expected somber, introspective finale comes early with The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever. It's one of those "we only have each other, so let's hold on together" songs, but nicely executed. The track Kiss Goodbye doesn't really qualify as a track, it's a 40 second orchestral interlude. It's nice, for incidental music, but I doubt it will be tearing up the charts. Last Day On Earth closes the album in high gear, probably one of their most rockin tracks ever. It sounds like it should be the theme song for a big James Bond movie...