Review Summary: "I like Nirvana; it doesn't mean I'll shoot myself, shoot myself"
Elemeno P is a New Zealand pop-rock band who were popular in the early 00’s. Their 2003 debut album
Love & Disrespect spawned numerous singles which have remained iconic Kiwi tunes. Since this early success, the band have failed to reignite New Zealand’s passion long enough for them to be remembered as anything more than a band whose music featured on a couple of Coca Cola ads.
Love and Disrespect is a largely inoffensive album with some catchy choruses, as shown in songs like
Fast Times in Tahoe and
Verona.
Nirvana, a tribute song of sorts, features fun lyrics about liking Nirvana but not following Kurt Cobain’s example and shooting yourself. The educational aspect to this song makes this song inspirational, something which doesn’t happen frequently while listening to Elemeno P. In fact, once you have reached the halfway point of this album the poppy elements, generic pop-rock guitars similar to Green Day, and strong accent of the lead singer become overbearing, making suicide seem more reasonable.
The song
Hold On reaches new levels of banality:
“Like do do do do do, do do do do do do,
Who’s getting over you, do do do do do”
I concede that the song is likely a joke and meant to be lighthearted, like all of their music, but combined with the electronic elements and generally bland instrumentation of their music, this song is almost unlistenable.
Weed Out suffers similar problems, with the lead vocalist singing out of tune and the guitar being far too loud in some sections. Part of Elemeno P’s appeal is the “unpolished” sound which is synonymous with many small bands but this doesn’t make the music any easier to listen to.
Every Day’s A Saturday is the only enjoyable song in the second half of the album, with a catchy riff and lyrics. In my opinion,
Every Day is one of the most Kiwi songs ever created. Dole bludging, unemployment, and BBQs are quintessential aspects of New Zealand life and this song captures that perfectly.
By the end of the album you will likely want to punch the lead vocalist in the face, with his annoying kinda-singing, kinda-talking, kinda-rhyming vocal style. But, despite these flaws, I still enjoy a few of Elemeno P’s songs. Nostalgia likely plays a large part of this, as the topics dealt with on the album are universally relatable to a twelve year old (not wanting to grow up, teenage love, hanging with friends, etc).
Sputnikmusic was right to not acknowledge the existence of Elemeno P, but sometimes bad music can still be important music, even if it is just to a couple million sheep shaggers.
Recommended tracks:
Nirvana
Verona
Urban Getaway
Fast Times in Tahoe
Every Day’s A Saturday
