The BurgerBlog

Cash Cash

Forget Hellogoodbye: manufactured pop has reached a new level. Cash Cash’s debut album Take It To The Floor is synth-filled, voice altered, syrupy, sugary goodness. It recycles 80’s synth pop and mixes it with would-be-punk (think punk for Clay Aiken). And, as much fun it is to criticize, Take It To The Floor is actually a fun, upbeat album. If the Backstreet Boys and N*Sync can be popular ten years ago, Cash Cash is the boy band of the future.

Take It To The Floor’s first song, “Breakout,” has a catchy chorus, quick beat, and voice-altered harmonies. It’s made-for radio candy, a guilty pleasure that can only be rivaled by the third track on the album, “Party In Your Bedroom.” The sing-along lyrics, jump and move funk, and light guitar is, dare I say it, perfect for dance parties and teenage girls to clap and shake down to. The heartthrob and lead singer of Cash Cash, Jean Paul Makhlouf, has a voice that’s perfect for the effect that Cash Cash is going for, when you can distinguish it from the distortion.

He leads the “Cash Cash” chorus, He’s got cash cash cash/He’s made of money but /He’s straight out the trash trash/He’ll rip your heart out in a flash flash flash/Oh no you’re not for sale. Belonging on N*Sync’s Celebrity, the faux-Spanish guitar flashes around the stanzas as Makhlouf preaches to girls about yuppie boys. “Cash Cash” is catchy and coherent, but will get old after the third or fourth listen.

Harmonies and hooks litter the album, but unfortunately a lot of too sweet to swallow pop. “Radio” and “Dynamite” sound like the 80’s pop never died (and songs like “Love Shack” did die for a good reason), and “Sugar Rush’s” innuendo infused lyrics (So I can taste you on my tongue/With your lips to kiss like the red hot sun/You’re one big sugar rush/Suck me in, suck me in, hold me down till the very end) are so corny that it’s hard not to groan as it comes on.

Originality and seriousness of subject matter are two things that Cash Cash needs to improve upon. Take It To The Floor is great for thoughtless summer music, but will fade out very quickly after the listener gets sick of the album. Fortunately, behind the computerized effects and sugar sweet pop, Cash Cash as a band has potential to rise above their own expectations.

Rating: B-

Recommended Songs: Party In Your Bedroom, Concerta

Toss These Songs: Sugar Rush, Radio’, ‘Cash Cash: Take It To The Floor

Making April

Piano rock is cool: think Augustana, Jack’s Mannequin, or Ben Folds. Piano-emo-pop-rock can be cool, I think, if someone could pull it off. Actually, someone can: Making April. Before releasing their debut album, The Egg Hunt, Making April had already been featured on MTV’s Laguna Beach and caught the eye of major record label Universal Republic (Chamillionaire, Colbie Caillat, Hinder). Now The Egg Hunt, which was released this past March, is here to test out Making April’s hype.

The first track on The Egg Hunt is presented with a whirlwind of guitar, held out synths, and heavy drumbeats. It silences, as the lead singer’s bright voice chirps, You were here when I wrote this one/So when you hear it you’ll know that it’s yours. Sean Scanlon’s voice has an uncanny similarity to Andrew McMahon: whiny bite, clear lyrics, and sweet falsetto. “So Bad” sounds like something Jack’s Mannequin would have produced on their Everything In Transit album, which is a good thing. Though the lyrics aren’t as inventive as Jack’s Mannequin’s, “So Bad” sounds made-for-radio, and if given the opportunity would be a sure-fire hit.

After “So Bad,” Making April’s songs unfortunately begin to blend together with unmemorable lyrics and piano licks. Though peppy and playful, both “Brighter Bright” and “Bailey” begin to shrivel under bland similarity. Listen to “Stay The Night.” Making April has blatantly copied the piano riff off of “Dark Blue.” Ouch.

“Wide Awake” may be the saving grace for The Egg Hunt. Settling chords and acoustic guitar (save the passionate solo mid-song) make up for the cheesy and desperate lyrics. With the makings of a Disney Channel Original Movie theme, “Wide Awake” will appeal to a vast audience.

“Hey Katie” is also a memorable track on The Egg Hunt. Reminiscent of Making April’s EP Runaway World’s hit single “Roses and Butterflies,” the quick-paced track harps on fame. Scanlon belts, And maybe if this label guy/Signs my band then I’ll be a rock star/And you’ll watch me play at an LA bar. Bouncy and cocky, “Hey Katie’s” playful nature is catchy enough for any pop fan.

The Egg Hunt isn’t the best album you’ll ever hear; in fact it only has a few gems out of the vast similar sounding piano tracks. Fortunately, if piano rock is what tickles your fancy, The Egg Hunt’s riffs (when unique) are plentiful and original. Sadly, piano riffs aren’t the only thing a band needs to make a good album.

Rating: C

Recommended Songs: So Bad, Hey Katie, Wide Awake

Toss These Songs: Let It Ride

Jupiter Rising

Remember the Black Eyed Peas before Fergie went on her ego trip and returned as a half-assed shadow of Amy Ferguson? The E.N.D. was a blow to old BEP fans; it lacked originality, playful rock riffs, and Phunk. Fortunately, there is hope for the devastated Black Eyed Peas fan. Jupiter Rising just released their sophomore album, The Quiet Hype. It’s playful, danceable, and a little mindnumbing, but what more could you ask from a band that is heading to a spot on the Top 40?

Their similarity to the Black Eyed Peas comes through most strongly on their opening track, “Falling Away.” Now, Nezey is no will.i.am, and Payo is no Fergie, but behind the unimpressive vocals is a poppy beat that belongs in a dance club. The lyrics are not noteworthy (I’m feeling like I’m falling away/I’m feeling like I’m falling away/People stop and stare but I don’t really care/Cuz I’m not really here and you’re not really there, there), but the groove, I promise, makes up for it.

The following track, “Tres Cool,” opens with porno bass line and percussion groove that Jupiter Rising expertly allows to sit before Nezey begins to rap nonsense. Singing about “flashing lights” and making the listener “hotter than a kettle pot” and “sticky,” this song is the epitome of what current dance clubs are looking for. Though this song is fun and flamboyant, I suspect that after a few listens it will be a bit of a flash in the pan.

After “Falling Away” and “Tres Cool,” Jupiter Rising flexes its musical talents and explores several musical genres. Payo asserts in a recent interview, “Our goal is to make music people can relate to, yet that is also new, fresh, and different… Something that is going to last, that has a little more depth.” Okay, well Jupiter Rising isn’t quite matured enough to make something different than what every Clear Channel Radio, Inc station offers, but they do offer R&B, hip hop, pop, alternative, electronica, and dance. “Flip My Switch” is surprisingly similar to P!nk, whereas “LA Girls” mirrors a mix between Daft Punk and Loose-aged Nelly Furtado (in this case, it unfortunately isn’t a good thing).

The title track, “The Quiet Hype,” is a slow ballad saluting individuality, even in the music business. Payo belts, Here I am, all I can do is wait/Here I stand, all on my own two feet/On my own, nothing comes easily/Nothing new to me all the same to me. As the simple piano provides a gorgeous backbeat, Payo exhibits the range and class of her singing abilities. The soulful track is beautiful.

Overall, The Quiet Hype is a fun album that should be in every Top 40 listener’s library. Jupiter Rising is lacking some originality and needs a better lyrics writer, but for an 11-track album filled with would-be hit singles, such frivolous things can be forgiven.

Rating: B-

Recommended Songs: Falling Away, Tres Cool, Flip My Switch, The Quiet Hype

Toss These Songs: LA Girls, When the Bass Drops

Anarbor

Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds wasn’t a fantastic EP, but that was not what drew me to Anarbor in the first place. This year’s EP Free Your Mind demonstrates significant band growth. Anarbor has begun to sound like a mix of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and The Academy Is…. Anarbor has seemed to have found a niche that has already been conquered, but because the sound is familiar, fun, and poppy, it’s an easy listen. Thankfully, they have also diverted their attention to fixing their lyrical mishaps. Free Your Mind is a fantastic demonstration of how a band can grow, and I can only hope that they will push themselves further to discover their own sound.

Once again, their first song, “Let The Games Begin” is the best track on the album. It is heavily guitar laden, with a chorus screaming “BANG BANG!” to add intensity. The flashy vocals mixed with the start and stop rhythm is uncanny to Fall Out Boy’s latest album, and this is a good thing.

“The Brightest Green” is my favorite track on the album. It once again shows off Echeverri’s talent as a vocalist, with a joyride of ups and downs, falsetto and Cute is What We Aim For sounding rock. Anarbor also managed to clean up “Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters),” and it is now a far more enjoyable track than what they produced on Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds.

In “You And I” and “Halfway Sober,” Anarbor unfortunately falls back into their original problem: crappy lyrics. “Halfway Sober” whines, “And I’m only halfway sober/And it’s not getting me any closer/When words got me down/You keep me up” and “You And I” complains, “Without you, there’s no reason for my story/And when I’m with you I can always act the same/Forever, yeah if we’re together/We can make it better.” Ouch. And After two unremarkable songs, the closing song’s fantastic lyrics get muddled. Echeverri belts in “Always Dirty, Never Clean,” “I’ll take dignity over industry/My wardrobe has never meant shit to me/I’ll sell my/songs, but never my soul/And what the fuck happened to rock and roll?” Well said, Echeverri! If you could write like that for the rest of the album, Anarbor would be much further along than it is now.

Anarbor needs to grow balls to make a sound outside of the many wellknowns that they emulate. The poppy songs will grow old over time, but for now they’re just fun; they will not “free your mind.” Anarbor has growing to do, but they’ve already made great leaps for a new band.

Rating: C+

Recommended Songs: The Brightest Green, Let The Games Begin, Always Dirty Never Clean

Toss These Songs: You And I

Anarbor

Just out of high school pop-punk band Anarbor is boring. Or at least, that was my first impression when I first started listening to their EP Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds. But after a few listens, I’ve decided that this band is worth reviewing, seeing as their following EP showed significant improvement. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds won’t change the way you listen to music, address anything groundbreaking, or provide a new style of music. However, it will give you the first peek into Anarbor, a band I suspect will grow big within the next three years.

Slade Echeverri, the band’s lead singer, uses the opener “I’ll Stay To The West” to flaunt his Brendon Urieish vocals. Somewhat emo, somewhat grunge, mostly pop, “I’ll Stay To The West” is by far the best song on the EP.

The following track, “Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters),” is the perfect example of Anarbor’s downfalls. Some of the lyrics are as follows:

“You’re the monster underneath/Lost of all faith/Feeding off my dreams/Where I thought I was safe/So shut your mouth/And bite your tongue/Because your a liar never fooling anyone/You’re the smoke in the air making everyone choke.”

Cringe? So did I. And Anarbor offers no originality to make this song worth listening to over and over, except for the offer of poppish catchiness.

A quality piece on this album is “Anatomy,” which is comparable to the Plain White T’s slower side. With harpy guitar riffs and Echeverri’s carrying voice, the only thing that could murder this track is lyrics. Homicide it is! “I wanna feel the beat of your selfish heart/As our bodies melt into one in the dark/I wanna hold you close as we fall into the night.” Not as horrible as “Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters),” but still cliché and a bit misplaced.

By the last track, it’s clear that Anarbor is aiming to attract fans with a familiar sound. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds doesn’t offer anything new to music fans, but thankfully Anarbor has a second, more recent EP that demonstrates growth within the band. Hearing Colours Seeing Sounds is an EP that future fans of Anarbor will buy and think, Wow, they came from that. I see future growth for this band, and once they outgrow the first album jitters, they will be popular.

Rating: C-

Recommended Songs: Anatomy, I’ll Stay To The West

Toss These Songs: Where The Wild Things Are (Monsters)

The Killers

With a fantastic first and a dismal sophomore album, there are bound to be mixed feelings about The Killers’ latest album, Day and Age. Where are the heavy drums, the fake British accents, the 80’s feel that made Hot Fuss such a success that was scrapped in Sam’s Town? Never fear, Day and Age put The Killers in their place, finally funding songs similar to “Mr. Brightside.” The rocking beats and catchy melodies will leave fans wanting to jump up and dance, and music reviewers Smiling Because They Mean It.

“Bones” in Sam’s Town worked well with the flustered horns section backing up barking Flowers. “Losing Touch,” the opening track, uses the same technique and it sounds retro—so retro that it’s like what made Hot Fuss so popular. “Human,” the second track, is appealing and popular with crescendoing synths and an easy backbeat, not unlike The Cure at their height.

“Joy Ride” and “This Is Your Life” are the songs that Dave Byrne and The Talking Heads should have given birth to in 1988. Oh well, The Killers stole the style and it works well for them. The funk groove and nippy sax and synth hooks create an energetic celebration of the style that Sam’s Town was lacking.

The Killers know that they’ve nailed this album. Flowers attacks and masters the epics “The World We Live In” and “Goodnight, Travel Well.” The latter of the two is a seven-minute end to the album, where he belts,

“Stay, don’t leave me/The stars can’t for your sign/Don’t signal now/And there’s nothing I can say/There’s nothing I can do now.”

Appropriate for the end of the album? Entirely. The powerful conclusion seals the deal: Day and Age brings the fun of Hot Fuss with a new nip that will leave Killers fans craving more.

Rating: A-

Recommended Tracks: This Is Your Life, Human

Toss These Tracks: I Can’t Stay, Neon Tiger

The Killers

Where did Duran Duran and David Bowie go? The Killers seem to have found some new influence for their sophomore album, Sam’s Town, and it doesn’t work. “It’s not so bad, it’s not so bad,” Flowers begs in “Bling (Confession of a King)” with his American accent. Oh Brandon. It’s not awful, but it’s pretty grotesque.

What made Hot Fuss so successful was the synth filled 80′s-esque glam, which The Killers have traded in for Bob Dylan. The band seems to have taken what worked tactfully well in Hot Fuss, like catchy bass rifts and choruses, and injected it into their new sound. Unfortunately, little signatures do not make an album.

Sam’s Town is not all lost; it does hold a few singles, but it does take wading to get to them. “When You Were Young,” the third track on the album, sounds similar to “Mr. Brightside,” the smash single on Hot Fuss. The synths carry the snappy song, while Flowers belts, “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus/But he talks like a gentleman/Like you imagined when you were young.”

“For Reasons Unknown” and “Bones” are also worth mentioning. “For Reasons Unknown” has a great buildup, but after hearing Flowers’ whine resonate throughout the song it becomes dull and irritating. “Bones,” however, is fun. The ska-ish horns give the punch that is lacking in the rest of the album. The song isn’t unlike “All These Things I’ve Done” in The Killers’ debut album.

In sum, nice try, but I believe that The Killers have a lot more talent that they could tap into. Hot Fuss worked; don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Rating: C-

Recommended Songs: Bones, When You Were Young

Toss These Songs: Uncle Johnny, My List’, ‘The Killers: Sam’s Town

Well somebody told me/You had a boyfriend/Who looked like a girlfriend/That I had in February of last year

The Killers

I looked at the radio incredulously. It was the fourth song on the mystery album that my friend Lindsay was showing me. The band was British—or at least they had British accents—and sounded like they could have gone on tour with The Talking Heads or The Smiths. They were flashy and fabulous, everything that an 80′s pop band should have been. I caved and asked for the CD. Lindsay smiled knowingly and handed me a hardcopy of Hot Fuss, The Killers’ debut album. Five years later, The Killers is one of the most popular bands around the world, and Hot Fuss is kept close. However, I only listen to the first half of the CD; it’s the only part of the album worth listening to.

It turns out that Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, is not British but in fact from Las Vegas. He brings the glamour of the city to his work, and it works well for the beginning of the CD. Take “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine,” the opening track. The bass curves a repetitive and catchy hook around the entire tune, the drums clash heavily, the synths have a simple but memorable solo, and Brandon Flowers, the man who makes this band, chants strange lyrics and ends his piece with a scream “ooh, oh, ooooooh.” It’s fun, and this is the case for the following tracks.

“Mr. Brightside” has a beautiful intro: first the guitar enters innocently, then a quick drum beat, then Flowers, bass, synths. The result? A high paced rock song. “Mr. Brightside” is the best known song by The Killers and a gem from Hot Fuss. The following two songs, “Smile Like You Mean It” and personal favorite “Somebody Told Me” are equally well written.

Then “All These Things That I’ve Done” happens. This track stands on its own; it’s beautiful, ending with a whole chorus crescendoing into a belted “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier.” Fantastic.

And that’s where Hot Fuss loses steam. The following tracks are largely unmemorable. They have no bite. In “Change Your Mind” and “Believe Me Natalie,” you find all of The Killers’ sound, but a lack of structure. Then there’s “Everything Will Be Alright.” If I have to listen to this song again I will not be all right. It’s slow, boring, and reminds me of drowning.

Hot Fuss gets it half right. The quality music that it produces is fantastic, and the near misses will hopefully be remedied in their sophomore album.

Rating: B

Recommended Songs: All These Things That I’ve Done, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Somebody Told Me

Toss These Songs: Everything Will Be Alright, Change Your Mind

Dave Barnes

Brother, Bring the Sun and Chasing Mississippi were done right. Sadly, Dave Barnes’ latest album, Me and You and the World doesn’t have the same quality as its predecessors. Perhaps the new record label Razor and Tie is to blame, or maybe Barnes has lost his touch.

It is difficult to listen to this album all the way through partly because of the way the tracks are organized. The first half of the album is solid work. “Brothers & Sisters” jumpstarts Me and You and the World with a humanitarian plea. The upbeat track has the same funk that made Brother, Bring the Sun and Chasing Mississippi special, but it adds a chorus that repeats “I believe that we can change the world” over and over again, to the point that it’s hokey (unless in concert due to audience participation. Then it sounds really, really good). The next track, “Since You Said I Do” has a grungy feel that is similar to “Crazyboutya” in Brother, Bring the Sun and “All That Noise” in the sophomore album. He reverts to his original feel, and it works.

Barnes takes up two tracks in the first half of the CD with what he calls “oldies but goodies.”  He rerecords “Until You” and “On a Night Like This.” Admittedly, the new sound is awesome, though far more Top 40 compared to the rest of his work. Likely, Razor and Tie is to blame, but this is something they got right.

After “Believe,” a ballad that Barnes is so adept at bringing to life, the album goes downhill. Part of the problem is that all of the quicker charts are found on the top of Me and You and the World, so the slow songs stacked on each other grows difficult to handle. The final two tracks (“Annie” and “Adeline”), which should end in a bang, sound frustratingly similar, and “Nothing Else” seems old school and misplaced. He should liven up this half of the album, or cut two or three songs.

Me and You and the World loses the soul and country that the preceding albums carried through. The lyrics are wholly predictable and everyone in the music industry has heard Dave Barnes’ “new” hooks. Despite these fallbacks, Barnes still brings some fun music to the plate. Ultimately, however, he should revert to his original sound.

Rating: B-

Recommended Songs: Until You, Brothers & Sisters, When A Heart Breaks

Toss These Songs: Nothing Else, Adeline

Dave Barnes

Brother, Bring the Sun rocked, and I waited impatiently for Chasing Mississippi, Dave Barnes’ sophomore album. The Nashville-based singer does it again. Chasing Mississippi does not have a bad track and can be listened to on repeat again and again…and again.

Unlike Brother, Bring the Sun, Chasing Mississippi sacrifices the appraised romance songs for a more upbeat feel. Fortunately for Barnes, his peppier songs are just as fun to listen to. In “Everybody But You” Barnes sings about a love interest who’s oblivious to his affections: “Everybody knows it here but you/I love you girl but you still ain’t got a clue.” The blues guitar with a Caribbean inspired rhythm section creates a playful feel, which is perfect for the content.

“Everybody But You” isn’t the only track where Barnes composes flawlessly for the accompanying lyrics. “Butterflies,” summed up by the catch “butterflies in my stomach/this just might be love,” can be skipped down the sidewalk to, with a ragtime piano solo in the middle that is reminiscent of finding love in the spring. Sound corny? It is. But corny, in this case, works.

Nashville obviously got to Barnes while he was writing this album. “Grey Hound” and “All That Noise” are slap and clap alongs, bound to appease listeners who want to get on their feet to a ragtime blues. They are masterfully woven into the overall album so as not to make the quicker beats sound hokey or overshadow the slower songs.

The romantic pieces, as mentioned in my review of Brother, Bring the Sun, are Dave Barnes’ strong suit. This remains true for Chasing Mississippi. “More Than a Man,” “Stay Away,” and “I Have and I Always Will” showcase Barnes’ fantastic vocal talent and bleeding heart. They all have guitar solos that are appropriately sweet and mellow as the song prescribes.

Well done, Dave. Chasing Mississippi is a wonderful addition to the repertoire.

Rating: A

Recommended Tracks: Buy this album