Berkeley Heights
"Heartbreak 101" CDEP
self-released
Genre: electro-pop, pop
Aug 25 2008 |
Amateurishly moaned vocals mar this Seattle-based brothers-duo's
debut EP, which is otherwise a straightforward electro-pop album that
seems equally influenced by The Postal Service and New Order.
With its mopey subject matter and sappy melodic production, this EP
seems targeted at a younger audience, and I could indeed see this as
the plaything of a somewhat geeky sixteen year old on his way to
hipsterdom. What else can you expect from a record entitled Heartbreak
101? Particularly trite is "Too Late" with its abominable chorus
couplet of "Do you believe in love at first sight/Have you ever cried
yourself to sleep at night?" Although I do commend Berkeley Heights
for the abundance of synthesizers and drum machines that power this
EP, I find the melodies on these six songs age at a terrible rate:
three listens in and I can't help but cringe at the pop hooks on
"Blind Eyes" and "My Apologies." "Fourteen Days," with its strangely
Green Day-esque vocals, is the band's most likely shot at
success - it suffices as a straightforward
teen ballad, but is a tad plodding for my taste.
berkeley
heights' myspace
68%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 6 tracks, distributed by
CD Baby,
released 2008] |