Listening to this album is truly a weird experience. The entire album is under 20 minutes and all the songs go by extremely quickly. one listen simply isn't enough to get a full opinion of the album, so I listened to it several more times. here is the track-by-track review:
1. Say hey
Bizarre starting track. The first few seconds are simply Brian hitting the snare. Slowly the bass and guitar tracks are added in, and then the vocals hit you. At first they sound a bit like little kids yelling at something, but then the song really hits it's groove and you get used to the odd sound. This song has an especially strange feel since it seems more held together by a basic bass line than by the drums, which kind of go off the basic beat and mess with several rhythm ideas. Very good track.
4/5
2. It's Not About Love (It's About Love)
This one starts out with a nice bass line and keeps a nice fast feel to it through pretty much the entire song. A kind of weird guitar solo in this one. Very basic, but it does the job. nice drum work.
3/5
3. Got Laid
What catches your attention on this track is Zach's lyrics. A strange sort of bragging after a one night stand, coming off almost nerdy. The bass and drum parts are getting a little repetitive at this point in the album, but the fresh guitar licks and interesting lyrics keep it good.
3.5/5
4. Oh No It Ain't So
Again, Zach's vocal work is the main draw to this song. In the chorus he reaches a kind of bizarre begging vocal tone, and it surprisingly fits well with the upbeat backing track. This track would feel like it's simply repeating the formula of the first three, but since the tracks are so short this one still feels like it's part of the first song. The short length really works to the advantage of the album.
3/5
5. X
The album's only failure. Starting with a basic beat with all of the instruments in unison, you expect it to escalate. You're even fooled by a slight drum roll that something good might be ahead. But no. Not until the very end does it become anything more than a basic beat, and even then it's nothing special.
1/5
6. We Rock
This track brings the album back into it's natural grove, with Zach bragging in his nerdy way, the bass giving a nice back beat, the drums just all of the place yet still on tempo and the guitar playing chords that give the whole thing an odd surfer feel to it.
3/5
7. Headlights
Catchy drum beat at the beginning, with a well planned out bass line. This gives the guitar room to place it's chords in funny places. About halfway through the song goes to a bit of a different guitar riff and it fits nicely with the song. This track serves as a good intro for the next, and the lack of vocals gives you a bit of a break from Zach's odd voice.
8. 2 Face Chang
At this point the album does begin to get repetitive. Again, all of the parts are nice and it sounds good, but it's just getting old. Not too much really to say about the track, as it tends to blend in with some of the others.
2/5
9. The Right Way
Again, they fall back on their same, somewhat repetitive formula. It would be really boring, but it has a pretty nice guitar riff. The lyrics are pretty cool too, and at one point it has a nifty break down to just drum, bass and vocals.
2.5/5
10. Burning Up
Outstanding track. A cover of Madonna's song, they do it faster, cooler, and all around better than Madonna did. The best thing about this track is that Jeannie Kwon almost completely takes over the vocals, and she is one heck of a singer. This is a great break from the previous tracks.
5/5
11. Baby Make That Sound
Starting out with yet another catchy drum beat and bass riff, it then leads into Zach's vocals, which are back to their kind of pathetic (in a good way) sound. The guitar work also fits nicely. The track ends with all sorts of creepy moaning, which might ruin the song if it weren't for the fact that it goes so well with it's mood. Overall a great track.
4/5
If you want to get away from the mainstream music scene and hear something different, this is the perfect album for you. Although it has it's mistakes (avoid X at all costs) it is still very enjoyable.
