Bands coming to USU are catchy and fun
“Everybody Else”Everybody Else Grade B+
Everybody Else wants to make pop music that isn’t dumbed down or overly processed, according to the band’s Web site. They’re putting the raw power of rock back in pop/rock.
The Los Angeles trio – which consists of Carrick Moore Gerety on vocals and guitar, Mikey McCormack on drums and Austin Williams on bass – mixes the energy of many retro new-wave bands like Franz Ferdinand with attitude, rhythm and harmonies of classic ’50s and ’60s pop.
The album’s opener, “Meat Market,” begins with a slick power-pop guitar riff, fuzz bass, driving backbeat and handclaps – all that before Gerety jumps in with his sweetly snarling vocals (a little like a mellower American Liam Gallagher of Oasis) sings about the dating scene being a meat market.
The song exhibits what is best about the band – its ability to take simple events or situations in modern life and make them interesting (like a girl putting on makeup in “Makeup” and adolescence in “In Memoriam”).
Along with “Meat Market,” other album standouts include “Say Goodbye” and “Faker” with their bass-heavy verses and Beach Boy-like harmony choruses, and the anthemic album closer “Alone in the World Tonight.”
The whole album doesn’t maintain the energy of their best and isn’t as interesting as these songs. Some songs begin to sound the same, and the simple situations they write about are sometimes maybe a little too simple (like the ode to wealthy girlfriends on “Rich Girls, Poor Girls”).
But even at its worst, the band’s tight energy and melodies keep it a step above the vast majority of similar bands.
While they may not quite be as consistently excellent or have the lyrical depth of some of their stated heroes (according to the band’s Web site) such as Elvis Costello and the Kinks, Everybody Else’s debut album is a step in the right direction.
“On Fire”The Higher Grade C+
Somewhere there is an episode of “The OC” or “Laguna Beach” waiting to play The Higher.
The Las Vegas band’s sound on their new CD, “On Fire,” fits seamlessly along with other pop/punk/emo bands like Yellowcard that the show has popularized, while they also incorporate more R & B and dance beats into their music like Fallout Boy.
While their knack for writing fairly catchy melodies may excite fans of the pop/punk/emo genre, their lack of originality in style or substance prevents them from standing out.
The album’s lyrics often sound simplistic and cliché.
The band seems to bring these criticisms on themselves with song titles like “Can Anyone Really Love Young” and “Histrionics” that seem to highlight the faults in their music, which all revolve around adolescent conceptions of relationships, love and lust.
Lyrics like, “Everyone gets in the way of everything” and “Everything you feel is terrible, ’cause it is” from “DARE” take away from the drama, and drama they seem to want to create with their polished music and earnest sounding vocals.
Despite its weaknesses, “On Fire” does have catchy melodies and radio-ready songs like “Insurance?” and “Guts.”
Fans of similar pop/punk bands should also enjoy this CD.
Tom Liljegren is the music critic for the Utah Statesman. Comments, questions and suggestions for future bands to review can
be sent to him at
www.tliljegren@cc.usu.edu.