|
|
|
Not to be confused with My Chemical Romance, Love Is Chemicals formed in San Francisco in 2001. They've had some lineup changes, but the constant members have been husband and wife Nate and Courtney Grover. This is their second disc. It's melodic indie rock that will vaguely remind you of a lot of bands that emerged on the West Coast in the 90s—Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill, and so on—in a way that's polished but recycled. A couple of songs, like "Misery Card" and "Friends & Neighbors," seem inspired by Twice Removed-era Sloan. It seems that Mr. Grover might fancy himself to be a witty lyricist like Sloan's Chris Murphy, but zingers like "close your eyes, say something nice, and pretend you're kissing Johnny Depp" are outweighed by lazy rhymes, uninspired cliché sentiments, and barf-inducing lines like "every time I think about sex it feels like one great big hex."
On the plus side, these guys know how to write a hooky chorus (album opener "Claw Your Sweater" has a great one), they do the building crescendo thing pretty well (closer "Furthest Star"), and they've got a great guitar sound which is brought out by these nicely-produced recordings. Despite my gripes, it's a well-done album and I get the sense that these kids truly mean well—but on the other hand, they don't really seem to have much to say as a band other than "hey look, we're an indie rock band." There once was a time when that in itself was some kind of a statement, but that time passed before these guys came along. (mike.05.06)
rating
related links