| THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - Passive Me, Aggressive You |
| Written by Michael McClelland | ||
| Monday, 06 September 2010 01:31 | ||
You’d think this kind of sudden success takes a commercial super-weapon - but from what we can tell, they’re as human (or poppy - no genre pun intended) as anyone. There’s a magical kind of space occupied by a privileged few that The Naked And Famous have somehow found their way into. They’re just an indie band who made the rounds a bit and now all of a sudden, everyone knows who they are. They humbly entered a MusicHype competition earlier this year to win the opportunity to support The Mint Chicks. Six months later, they’d hardly need the help. Even back in March, it wouldn’t have been a stretch. I stand firm that their cover of ‘Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!’ sucked, but it’s one example of a smart effort to promote their name. And humble efforts like this were the cogs and gears that made up the hype machine that got them where they are today. And where they are today is the release of their debut full-length album, 'PASSIVE ME, AGGRESSIVE YOU'. Reviewing this album may just be as hard as reviewing the hype itself. But this is where I’ll start: it’s a good pop album. It represents where pop music in New Zealand should be right now, logically. If I would have been old enough to give this kind of thing any thought, I would have told you in 1999 that this is where I expected music to be in 2010. Because it makes sense, to me, that music by now should have embraced a blend of modern technology, traditional songwriting skills and the kind of out-of-the-box thinking inherited by alternative music. But instead, it didn’t – and pop music kind of chased itself around a bit for a few years in between with the odd huge hit that you couldn’t stand to listen to anymore after six weeks of airplay. It’s just now that music is starting to ‘get’ something and audiences are no longer passive enough to always just like whatever is thrown at them. You can thank 'Juno', 'Garden State', and the Internet as a whole - but it’s crossovers like The Naked And Famous, that are accessible enough to show the mainstream a taste of alternative sensibilities. It works well as a pop album, yes, but as an alternative album it isn’t exactly groundbreaking. It may be thinking outside of the pop box, but as far as genre-pushing free-thinking innovation goes for indie music, it’s merely peeping out from the packet. In fact, if you’re hoping for the latest hype-driven style-breaking thing (among various other buzzwords) you’re better off listening to The Arcade Fire or LCD Soundsystem, who have been pulling off for years overseas what is only now becoming revolutionary in New Zealand. But there isn’t really anywhere else to turn, over here. New Zealand needs a breakthrough album like 'Passive Me, Aggressive You'. While America and the UK surge ahead with innovative sounds in pop to test the mainstream and peak their interest constantly, New Zealand is stuck with Brooke Fraser and The Feelers. Safe music that sells safe numbers. The reason ‘Young Blood’ broke through at Number One was because people realised what they had been wanting for a long, long time in this country. The Naked And Famous aren’t hiding behind any veils - they may have a slightly offbeat sound, but they’re okay with being pop. If this band can start a trend, I sense a tidal wave will come. Gone will be the days of ‘safe’ music that only shadows soaring artistic experimentation from overseas. Every good pop album focuses on the heart over the mind. Whether the emotions expressed might be lust, hatred or regret, people just relate better to universal feelings. So when it comes to the general public, you have to communicate in a way that doesn’t take a genius to interpret. 'Passive Me, Aggressive You' doesn’t comment on politics or society - it makes you dance more than it makes you think. The lyrical content is as vague as ever with pop music - the eternal question of who "you" is is still left unresolved, but it doesn’t need to matter. What you can focus on are the thumping low frequencies that beat continually like the sound of a heart, and those soft reverberating vocals to remind you of a whispered voice. There’s a ‘sound’ to this album. Often, I get bored by an album that doesn’t shift in tone or production enough. However, in this case, The Naked And Famous enter a strange territory where the listener’s attention doesn’t need to remain peaked throughout the entire album. This is why 'Passive Me, Aggressive You' works as a pop album - it’s a sensual experience that requires no real thought to enjoy. Instead, you can close your eyes and let your mind wander as the music soaks into you. If I could have my way, I would have just told the band to create 45 minutes of the last 30 seconds of ‘Girls Like You’ - the last track on the album - and I’d be happy. Seriously, every time that dominant chord comes in. Listen for it. To save you some time, here's a list of what you should listen for when you pick up the album: Track 1 ‘All Of This’ - Catchy catchy catchy catchy. Decent way to start an album. Not to mention the use of the word ‘fucking’ within the first minute into the song to let you know that these guys mean business. Track 2 ‘Punching In A Dream’ - Wow, definitely a highlight. Alisa Xayalith’s vocals are manic and furious, a thing which is unfortunately eclipsed by sleepy vocals filling most of the latter half of the album. Which is a bad thing, by the way. Track 6 ‘Eyes’ - Remember those sleepy vocals I was talking about? You’ll definitely know what I mean by this point. If you haven’t already drifted off, yourself. Thankfully this track is here to wake you up a little with some interesting 80's stadium drums and synth lines that wouldn’t be too out of place back then either. Track 7 ‘Young Blood’ - I’m friends with a few people who would probably give me a few dirty looks if I admitted to liking this song (or this band). Well, fuck them. This song is a hit for a good reason. Because it’s damn good. Listen to those swelling drums! Xayalith’s frantic disillusionment that pours from every word. Every song on this album may be padded out with unnecessary dream-synth, but this song captures the essence of the entire album and sums up exactly why extravagance is no bad thing. It’s an emotional album, and this is an emotional song. You don’t even need to listen to the lyrics… you can just tell by those rippling textures of harmony. It’s a song that sucks you in and grabs you at every moment. And when the pulse is the only thing left standing once the synth harmonies have died away, the whispered male vocal delivery will suck you right in. I know I must sound a little too enamored with an already overplayed song, but when you yourself get the chance to sit down and listen to this song, my recommendation is you have the ‘repeat’ button pressed so you can overplay the hell out of that thing. It has its shortcomings, of course. The 'yeah yeah yeah’ part is dumb, and in my view nearly compromises the integrity of the song. I won’t claim to be the art police or anything, but for a song that is basically oozing with sentiment, do The Naked And Famous really want to risk losing the emotion they’re evoking with a silly baseless line? Is it really that hard to change three one-syllable words into something more meaningful that will stick with the listener for longer? It’s weird how a word as simple as "yeah" can be so easily remembered yet so forgettable at the same time. Track 8 ‘No Way’ - A very sleepy outro, but this time it’s a very good thing. You’ll see why. Track 9 ‘A Wolf In Geek’s Clothing’ - This one opens with some well-needed noise to wake you up from the previous (and boring) ‘Jilted Lovers’. Self-indulgent and hard to get (as many tracks are on this album), but wow. What a great way to break off from the listener’s expectations. Track 11 ‘Girls Like You’ - We’ve already discussed awesome outros… but yeah, it needs re-stating, this one. Those tracks I haven’t mentioned counted as filler for me. I could have done without them. Besides that, they were tracks I just didn’t ‘get’ - they didn’t grab me like the rest of the album did. ‘Frayed’ is an early example of much of what I feel is wrong with the album. Slow and sparse, it doesn’t fit in with the overall theme, and misses the mark when it comes to pleasing melodies. This shares a lot in common with ‘The Sun’, ‘Jilted Lovers’ (Zzzz) and ‘The Ends’, which, despite being a serenely soothing song (don’t get me wrong) falls a little too much on the slow side. I can’t even begin to explain what’s going on with ‘Spank’, though. Right from the curious choice of name (yeah, what?) I can’t tell what The Naked And Famous are going for with this one. I know it’s a strange genre, I know they’re a strange band, and above all I know this isn’t exactly a run of the mill album… but this song steps outside itself a little too much. Thankfully, that barren melody finally gets supported by the harmony and bass our ears have been longing for by the time the song is over. Unfortunately, it doesn’t save it from being repetitive and a little uninspired. 'Passive Me, Aggressive You', despite the band’s apparent self-image obsession, ‘indie’ aesthetic and Special Problems dependence, falls short of the revolutionary album everyone (in the press) would have you expect it to be. It’s definitely not genre-defining OR genre-breaking as far as creativity goes. Anyone who’s listened to alternative radio has had their fix already of electro-shoegaze synth lines, crooning whispers, pulsing bass, nostalgic melodies and simplistic (yet ambiguous) lyrics. Besides revolutionary, it’s not even great in itself. There are great songs on the album, don’t get me wrong - but there are just too many lulls for it to stand out like it should. One reason you should buy it is because it represents the first good thing to happen to New Zealand pop since indie rolled around. Thanks but no thanks Dane Rumble, you and your label can both hold onto whatever success formula you’ve dreamed up. MUST-LISTEN: ‘All Of This’, ‘Punching In A Dream’, ‘Young Blood’, ‘Girls Like You’. HEARTOMETER: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [ out of 10 ] YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: MGMT, The Arcade Fire, Passion Pit, LCD Soundsystem. THIS COULD HAVE WON US OVER MORE, IF... more of its songs had enough energy to keep our attention peaked. WATCH: The Special Problems video for ‘Punching In A Dream’. |
