The End - Wow, an opener called The End? Their creativity was at critical mass. It's not bad, a bit plodding and samey but not without a nice beat and a cute sentiment. The last 20 seconds are gorgeous but KoL lacks the balls to use anything more than the reverb knob to color their songs, so forget that being at the forefront.
Radioactive - The titles just keep getting more radical. This one lacks an engaging melody of any kind, and only the ridiculously out-of-place guitar line and bad math-rock beat stand out. It's a lame song, and an even lamer first single.
Pyro - No fireworks here, sadly. Yet another comatose ballad, which is a shame, because this is probably the prettiest one yet. The fact that it's not called Sex Pyro shows improvement over the last album.
Mary - Confused pop-rocker with a slight bluesy tinge that is produced so badly I can barely hear the hook inherent in the track. Probably will sound better live, but I'll never care enough to know.
The Face - So KoL really don't care that every band on earth sounds like this now? They have become Temper Trap, but with more soul, so you could be listening to worse (like Temper Trap). Never takes off, and the chorus is awful/mired in ZOMG WE CAN BE THE TWOOOOOOOO, but the verses have a slinky verve about them.
The Immortals - Track 6 and the only thing I hear that's immortal about this trend-hopping record is KoL's desire to make the same song over and over. I predicted like three songs ago when the chorus for this one would come in. I may start pasting my descriptions elsewhere to save me some time. BTW, the bass player makes a good groove on this one. It's just that the rest of the song is so lazy and nondescript that I won't remember anything else about it.
Back Down South - I laughed out loud when I saw the title. Yes, KoL ate some KFC and decided to find a spot for a slide guitar in their usual turgid formula. They didn't have time to use more than one chord though. Good God, that had to be the least passionate end to a hoedown I've ever heard. Can't fucking wait for Pickup Truck.
Beach Side - Probably my favorite song so far. Solid beat, very pretty melody, attractive slide guitar...it's definitely relaxing in a Jimmy Buffet meets uh, U2 kind of way.
No Money - Yeah, I doubt that. Not when you've copped the chorus of Sex On Fire, note-for-note, to forge the chorus for one. You're going to be doing just fine, I think. He said "fucking" though, so I'm sure the album will be blacklisted.
Pony Up - The BPM of this one rises slightly above 120, maybe 122 or something, but those painfully treble-y guitars in the non-chorus remind me of All Because of You in the worst of ways. One step forward, then fucking collapse.
Birthday - I wish this were never born. [insert default description of all new KoL songs here]
Mi Amigo - Sounds like an Uncle Cracker single recorded by a band that should know better. With random mariachi horns. The question is, which came first, the title or the mariachi horns? The latter is so ill-advised that I'm siding with that for the time being. Probably will be a single, but no one will notice when the sound of their car's engine, air conditioning and the road below are so much more attention-grabbing.
Pickup Truck - Shit, nearly 5 minutes? Getting a bit ambitious there. But is it good enough to show off at the county fair? Well, it's supposed to be a ballad or something, but the bass line is working against the melody, trying its damndest to rock out when EVERYTHING ELSE is going in the opposite direction. KoL is irritating enough these days without
trying for dissonance. Anyway, yeah, it's bad. Consider the album totaled.
In sum: the songs are all slightly tweaked versions of the one preceding it, so it's probably best not to focus on those. What about other elements? Well, for one, this really is one of the worst produced albums I've ever heard. It sounds like they heard Interpol was going out on tour, so they stole their facilities, got drunk, and re-recorded an upcoming b-sides collection in their sleep. Furthermore:
Kings of Adult Contemporary.
I can't believe how tepid this album is.
I'm halfway through, and am very, very close to falling asleep.
It's a musical flatline. I'll give it a C for generally being pleasant and not having a song as obnoxiously cloying and transparent as Use Somebody, but it's a faaaaaaaaaaaaar cry from the genuine inspiration of Because Of The Times, or the sloppy fun of the early stuff.
