Opener "Sins of My Youth" seems a direct musical rip from 2008's well-meaning but unrealized and annoying post-emo musical Razia's Shadow complete with forceful but non-evocative vocals trying to convey some emotion the vocal never delivers. It's a party song about regretting drugs and parties which, I suppose, is ironic but a sort of irony that is more irritating than clever. This flows into "Love and Affection" which fails to conjure anything close to either emotion with unimaginative melodies lifted from 2004 while "In the Next Room" would make Panic at the Disco wish someone really would
close the Goddamn doorso nobody would steal their vaudeville-meets-pop-punk shtick. With "Our War" the Forgive Durden circle is drawn to a close with a sedate, contemplative monologue preceding a mostly forgettable closer.
Despite all these issues, despite all these mediocre songs I cannot stop listening to this album. Why? Because of a four song stretch in the middle that makes for some of the best summer music of the year. "1983" is actually probably a stupid song, but as a 27 year-old my senses of the tune's flaws are obscured by nostalgia and its hooks piled upon hooks. "Girls and Boys in School" attacks with a high-hat and snare good enough to fill out the playlist at most indie-rock dance parties in 2006 while "Your Surrender" is a jumping, pounding, pogo-ing anthem of who-cares-what-because-this-chorus-is-so-fun.
None of this would be able to salvage the record, however, without "Animal" which is, I have to say, is an almost perfect pop song. It's nimble and agile, subtle pauses leading into quick, entrancing movements. It has hooks, sing-a-longs, and just enough 2001 garage-rock affect to temper the singer's over-indulgent vocal. The result is a hot, hot, hot song that if their label marketed it smartly, would be an instant mainstream hit. It's exuberance and youth bottled and rendered in 0s and 1s.
Habits spends most of its time mimicking sounds of the band's successful predecessors and in many cases the failings of the songs are more failings of the source than of Neon Trees. When the band hits on something good, however, it's fucking electric.
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ReplyDeleteEveryone's entitled to their own opinion...but unfortunately, yours is wrong.
ReplyDelete"Opener 'Sins of My Youth'...[is] trying to convey some emotion the vocal never delivers."
'Sins of My Youth' exemplifies singer Tyler Glenn's regrets in life, and isn't intended to be a party song so much as a warning. Sure, it's got a great beat, but Glenn wants us to know he's done things he isn't proud of, and is coming out stronger the other side.
There's not much to say about 'Love and Affection', but it's got a mean hook in the chorus.
'In the Next Room' is an emotion filled, dark, almost sad song. Panic! at the Disco is my favorite band, and I can say that 'In the Next Room' does not imitate anything even close to P!ATD's 2005 debut 'A Fever You Can Sweat Out', or 2008's 'Pretty. Odd.'. Where you draw a comparison between Neon Trees and Panic!, two of my favorite bands, is far beyond me.
While 'Our War' is not my favorite song on the record, saying it is a "...mostly forgettable closer" is a gross misjustice to the song. The "sedate monolouge" means something to Glenn, and should mean something to the listener, just as everything on the album.
We seem to be meeting somewhere in the middle at '1983'. While you were correct in saying "hooks piled upon hooks" that isn't all that makes the song excellent (and one of the songs on the soundtrack to my summer). Emotion, the incredibe "oh-woh-oh"s, and overall feeling of nostalgia has me singing this song every minute of every day.
'Girls and Boys In School', an NT that has been in the works since 2008, is a hook-happy, dance-party jam with one of the best choruses of 2010.
'Your Surrender' is more than just it's ridiculously fun chorus, but captures Glenn's want in a "let's have fun" song.
iTunes' March 2010 single of the week 'Animal' is an intense, dance-y song that could very well be a mainstream success. But "Habits" doesn't need it to stay afloat. This record would be an absolute masterpiece with or without 'Animal'.
Another thing that escapes most reviews cannot be entirely made their fault; most reviewers have not seen NT's live show. I saw Neon Trees in Lansing, MI on July 15th, and it was by far one of the most high-energy, fun, exciting things I have ever done. Not only did they nail every song, but were very intimate with a crowd of just 300-500. Tyler Glenn is an amazing frontman, and drummer Elaine Bradley has excellent harmonies. When I went to this show, I only had heard 'Animal', 'In the Next Room', and '1983'. I had planned to leave after these three songs were played. As I soon learned, leaving early from a Neon Trees show is not a possibility. I was enthralled by their music, and immediately bought the record that night.
In short, "Habits" is an amazing album, that is all its own sound. It does not have time to imitate its predecessors, because it's too busy making a name for itself. There is not one song on the record that could not be a single on its own merit. Everything Neon Trees does is "f*cking electric".
Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteObviously we disagree about how groundbreaking the band is. They have a great energy and they really know how to write a hook, but their treading in territory that Fall Out Boy has been holding down for nine years, and even they were taking a lot of cues from any number of Drive-Thru records bands of the late 90s. To stand out playing that kind of music they have to nail every beat, which they occasionally do, but a lot of times they don't. That the band borrows from previous styles isn't a strike against it per se, but a lot of the times the re-purposed parts don't fit together as well as they should.
One of the great boons (and also one of the biggest pitfalls) of the style is that it transmits angst and longing so well, but it doesn't fare so well with other emotions so you get cases like "Sins of my Youth" where the lyrics don't reflect anything else in the song. Bands can have success writing sad songs to happy music, but not if both the music and the tone of the singer's voice are the same whether sad, happy, regretful or celebratory.
Again, thanks for posting.
Note: I'm going to delete your first post since it seems you reposted the whole thing in the second post to fix the formatting.
I'm glad we can respectfully disagree on something unlike a lot forum fights. It seems like you're just listing my favorite bands now. :) I do see the comparison between Fall Out Boy and Neon Trees closer than that of NT and P!atD. But since FOB has gone on their "indefinite hiatus", the world needs a band to step up to the plate, and I think Neon Trees is the band that can do that. It also made me laugh remembering how P!atD's Brendon Urie tweeted about how much he loved Habits. Your reasoning on "Sins of My Youth" makes much more sense now and I can see where you are coming from. Thank you for having a civilized conversation.
ReplyDeleteNote: Thank you! I was actually looking for a way to delete the first post, but you did it for me. Much appreciated. Also, ironically enough, while I was on this website, my iPod shuffled to Habits. Got to love irony.