Control Escape
"Generation of Waste" CD
Weasel Land
Records
Genre: pop / rock, indie pop, lo-fi
Aug 7 2008 |
Last we heard from indie popster Ken Adam, he had put out a solo
record under the tasteful moniker Poop Yer Pants, which
Indieville reviewed quite favourably. Well, that was three years ago,
and since then he's teamed up with co-vocalist Peapod and
drummer Chuck Raniewicz to form Control Escape.
Heavily influenced by Pavement's carefree and culturally
sardonic demeanor, this trio creates melodic lo-fi songs that are
sadly a tad inconsistent. While some songs on Generation of Waste
are tight, infectious pop moments (dark and folky "Luxury," elegant
popper "Snow (No Angels)"), others fall down flat (abysmal "The
Breakdown," bland and too-long "Back on the Drugs")
Generation of Waste's lyrical content is primarily concerned
with the young American lifestyle, taking jabs at McDonalds, the daily
9-to-5, backpacking to Europe, and of course the war on Iraq. At
times, the songs lapse into a level of triteness only a Grade 9 art
teacher would laud ("The Breakdown," "Generation of Waste.") It seems
to me that Ken Adam is better at writing pop hooks than lyrics,
though occasionally he sparks up an interesting idea - "Animals Will
Hurt You" is pleasantly unconventional, and "We Went to Ireland" is a
victory in twentysomething storytelling.
As it stands, Generation of Waste is slightly above average
singer/songwriter fare from Control Escape. Mark Adam
knows how to write a decent pop song, although he has a little trouble
sifting his inspired songs from his less groundbreaking moments.
Although musically, nothing here breaks the
mould in terms of originality, pop devotees
will have plenty to hum along to.
control
escape's myspace
70%
youuuuuuuutube!:
generation of waste live,
erased video,
kenny's big adventure video
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 10 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |
