Palm Trees and Power Lines

9.1分（21人评分）

151人收藏

共12首歌曲

艺人: Sugarcult
语种: 英语
厂牌: Fearless
发行时间: 2004年04月13日
专辑类别: 录音室专辑

专辑介绍

by Johnny Loftus

Sugarcult's 2001 debut, Start Static, had its share of filler, but the band that brought listeners &Stuck in America& and &Bouncing Off the Walls& certainly understood the power and marketability of shoutable choruses and giddy hooks played loud. Palm Trees and Power Lines, their sophomore major-label effort, might not be as direct, meaning they want to trade a bit of the bubblegum for some mall-punk songwriting cred. Its formula -- a clutch of upbeat rockers paced out with a few girlfriend-pleasing ballads -- is exactly the same, so the album will still please most of Sugarcult's Warped Tour constituency. But there's a sense that its hooks are more murky, that perhaps the bandmembers are aiming for some &seriousness& this time around. &Champagne& could be about the perils of celebrity overconsumption; its cleaned-up Nirvana vocals carry over to the cleansed So-Cal punk of &What You Say.& &She's the Blade& mixes some minor chords into its tale of backstabbing romance, but is still guided by giddy pick slides and a head-bouncing singalong chorus. Even lead single &Memory& nixes the full-on anthemic antics of blink-182, instead co-opting the faceless, vaguely punk-influenced hard rock model of, say, American Hi-Fi. This is what makes Palm Trees a bit strange. It includes the melodrama of &Back to California,& and consistently dials back the giddiness that defined Static. Luckily, whether through its thick, glossy production or the band's own desire to make the kids happy -- not make them think -- Sugarcult keep Palm Trees on a mostly enjoyable track. All groups deserve the chance to stretch their songwriting chops a bit, and Sugarcult do here, but they know their niche is in direct guitar chops and inclusionary lyrics. &All I want to do/Is lie in bed with you,& they sing in &Worst December,& and even if you can't figure out what the song's supposed to be -- is it punk? Is it pop? Is it Toad the Wet Sprocket covering Jawbreaker? -- it probably works just fine for the kids. In the end, after their dalliance with Being Serious, Sugarcult are thankfully more concerned with pleasing the crowd than making a statement.

Palm Trees and Power Lines

专辑介绍

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