Twee Pop has always interested me, but in the sense that it's unfathomable. Some people do it really well, and some people just do some jamboree of horrid sounds. Yet, some Twee nonsense always seems to make it on to every summer playlist ever made - this summer, it's the turn of the tin-earred, 80s reject that is Darwin Deez, a man whose allure I can't quite fathom.
So, we've learned in the course of this album that Darwin Deez, the frontman who suddenly seems so cocky by naming a band after his persona, and then their first album after the band that's named after him, is a talentless hack. Sure, in the world of indie it's all fun and games to be "punk rock" and tone deaf, but, when it comes to music I've heard tone deaf songs sound half good, even when they're half-baked.
What you get with this eponymous album is half-baked ideas for songs which almost all sound the same and blend into each other. Sometimes, when they're good, they're ruined by the crackly, pitchy vocals of Mr Deez himself. So, yes, punk rock, Neutral Milk Hotel, all that. But for this, it just doesn't fly. You cannot hide behind something like that; you have to admit that as indie cindy as you may be - you are not a rockstar, or a popstar, or even a personality for that matter. You are just ruining music.
It's all well and good for me to go off on a rant right now, but the reason this album is so terrible is because it's just lacking in that drive to push itself to do something a bit more. I mean, I could have turned off after a couple of songs and said "You know what, this is an alright EP" but, it's just like pushing a boulder up a hill that doesn't stop - I lost the will to live when the same chords and droning, whining vocals came in yet again on the next song.
So, some advice: Mr Deez. If you're ever allowed to make another album, please think about making things interesting for the listener. Think of it as scrapbooking. Put in loads of elements; mix it up a bit. Don't just create a family album where all the photos were taken on the same day and call it done
Overall: 3/10 - Samey, boring, lacking drive. However, Radar Detector. Addictive.
Top Track: Radar Detector
