 The
Frequency
Self-titled CD
Noreaster
Failed Industries
Genres: eighties pop, synth pop
Noreaster
2406 Phillips Dr.
Alexandria VA
22306
Aug 27 - Sep 3 2004 |
This is just bizarre. You think you know someone (in this case,
it's Trans Am's Sebastian Thomson), but then you turn
your back on him for a minute and he puts out a bizarre,
eighties-throwback synth-rock album. Then you listen to it, and
you can't see where the motivation came from - why would anyone
want to record songs like these? - but you give it the
benefit of the doubt, and buckle down to give it a few more plays
through. And slowly, you start to grow used to it - to
appreciate the simple melodies and corny production values. And before
you know it, The Frequency's self-titled album begins to find a
little home for itself in your ten-CD changer.
However, I will not say that this album is a particularly great
release. It is entertaining at times, and works as a suitable
pastime, but it is far from brilliancy. Thomson's best
compositions are the most melodic ones. "Erasing
Myself" is quite catchy when given a chance, and "Moonburn"
takes its success from an amazingly Moroder-esque synth solo,
despite brandishing a mediocre vocal part. "No
Control," meanwhile, is one of the album's most immediately
infectious songs - its dreamy guitar line really seals the deal.
As an almost obligatory inclusion, "Music as Entertainment"
seems to clarify The Frequency's fun-fueled ideology - and
perhaps scoffs at musical pretension. I hear ya, Sebastian.
80%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
15 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |
