Another 2010 album then, this being the prime New Zealand album of 2010, you can only imagine the competition.. The Naked And Famous sound is a blend of Dance-Punk and Post-Punk, but with little recognizable aspects of Post-Punk at all, that's what they call themselves, but hey.. I think it's a light alternative view of Pop. Or, Alt-Pop.
After a while it becomes clear it's a 1 to 2 song album, depending on how far you manage to listen. This Shoegaze influence is hear, also the 80's Synth Pop movement can be heard throughout. Vocal work is very good, you can hear the emotion, which is nice. good blend of vocals, they're not in your face. Some songs just are not as good as the others, sure the sound very similar with the incredibly repetitive drum beat they repeat all over this album, but with the same Shoegazey feel. They don't really mix it up in the slightest, 'Young Blood' being on of the singles is much a Shoegaze track with synth's and pop like drum beats and vocals, it's a nice blend, a decent, strong track. 'Punching In A Dream' is the best song by far. It's the most catchy, synth notes pave the way for the intolerable Shoegaze sound which is again heard.
It's a good produced album, it just doesn't change. That's a key feature to many modern bands, they create a unique sound, they just don't build on it, classic example being Glasvegas. The Naked And Famous are just like this. the style is categorized with the deep Guitar and poppy drum beats. I cant imagine LP 2 being an improvement.
So this album is withstandable, it's not a bad album by any means, the production, vocal quality and some of the instrumentation is very good, it just lacks the final touch.
~Eddie
~Eddie
7.1