Rapid Fire Reviews: Early Year Rock Albums with Maneskin, Guided By Voices & The C.I.A
RUSH! - Maneskin
Maneskin are interesting for a number of reasons. Not only do they have the potential to be one of the biggest crossover stars in Eurovision history, but their brand of trashy cocaine-influenced glam rock hasn't been represented by anyone in the mainstream for almost a decade. Following the breakout success of their cover of Beggin' this debut album was their big chance to make an impression and commercially it seems to have worked, but the quality of the record runs the full gambit. With 17 tracks that run over 50 minutes the band is trying on a lot of different ideas and the execution is inconsistent. Make no mistake though there is plenty to like about the record. It kicks off with a roar on the track OWN MY MIND and the deep cut READ YOUR DIARY is one of the slickest songs I've ever heard the band record. Against my better judgment, I like GASOLINE quite a bit too. While the epicness of the track may be pretty obviously manufactured I can't help but rock along with the soaring hooks. There are also plenty of low points where the band generally fails to impress.
A lot of the record's slower songs and ballad-type tracks are just okay, but the real duds are when they try something more bombastic and miss badly. GOSSIP has a great attitude and I love the snarling lead vocals but what's pretty good in concept just ends up fumbled and clunky in execution. KOOL KIDS is so obviously trying to be IDLES that I'm pretty sure Joe Talbot and company could sue them like Marvin Gaye did Blurred Lines. Not only is it a clear rip-off but because Maneskin doesn't have the same muscle it gives off real "we have IDLES at home" vibes. The worst song on the record is BLA BLA BLA which is so actively annoying that I could really see it being one of my least favorite tracks I have to cover this year. Thankfully, right as the record could start to get really patience testing it ends off on a pretty good run. The final six tracks start with the record's three Italian language songs. Even though they're better on average than the rest of the songs here a cursory glance over the translated lyrics tells me that they aren't any deeper than you'd expect. The last three songs are a trio of singles that I think average out to be pretty decent. The best and still one of my favorite songs from the band to date is SUPERMODEL which was always a welcome listen at this point on the album. RUSH! does occasionally live up to its namesake and delivery the heart-pumping rock and roll that so few popular acts out right now can provide, but it's among a very mixed bag to the point where it occasionally feels like an accident, or even worse, a copycat. Despite that I think the band has done enough on the album to show why they deserve to occupy this specific niche in popular music right now and don't dissuade me from paying attention to what they do in the future. 5.5/10
La La Land - Guided By Voices
GBV releases a TON of music so I can't even pretend anymore that I'll be able to keep up, I just pop in whenever I can. Unfortunately, the era that I've been reviewing their music hasn't exactly been one of the most exciting or important of the band's long and storied career. I was pretty excited to give this record a shot though as I thought the singles had a bit more life to them than the GBV records I've covered in recent years and the short opening track felt like the band getting back at their roots in a way I know fans like myself have been hoping would come for a while. Unfortunately, a lot more of the record than I had hoped is taken up by the slower and more meditative cuts that have dominated some of the band's records in recent years. Not that GBV is incapable of spinning a meaningful ballad, but the volume of material they release gives way to inconsistent quality among the very similar-sounding slow jams. And my patience for the band's antics may also be shrinking because even when they dig down and put some muscle into tracks like Slowly on the Wheel and Cousin Jackie I find them more annoying than exciting. Not only did this record fail to live up to my expectations but I'm actually enjoying it less than the previous few GBV albums I've covered. Fortunately, I believe in the talent of the band enough to suspect that whatever they return with, which is likely so come very soon, will be an improvement. 4/10
Surgery Channel - The C.I.A
The C.I.A comes to us via the busiest man in underground rock music, Ty Segall, his wife Denee Segall, and bassist Emmett Kelly. It follows a more reserved and acoustic record from Ty Segall last year that I had high hopes for but didn't end up loving. For those that missed the more distorted edge that his music normally has look no further than Surgery Channel, the second album from The C.I.A which opens up with an uncompromising crash of noise with its intro track before pushing it straight back to 90s garage rock and riding that wave for about 30 minutes. It really does feel like it lives up to that vintage demeanor too, not only with the razor-sharp vocal performances but also with the thickest haziest guitar riffs I've heard in a true-to-form punk rock song in a while. My biggest issue with the record would be that it's kind of a one-trick pony. Unless you just can't get enough of that buzzing distortion sound I would imagine it will get old at some point for most listeners. The vocals are a bit more varied occasionally dropping the slick confrontational demeanor for something a little bit harsher on tracks like Surgery Channel. Its chaotic noisy energy channels something that feels extremely indebted to early 90s Sonic Youth, but I'm not complaining about that at all. Combined with the musical virtuosity Ty Segall brings to a project it's an exciting listen even if the vision is pretty singular. 6.5/10
