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REVIEWS
Buy this album from iTunes
Less Talk More Rokk
Pop Music is Not a Crime
Frontload
Thought Balloon
Ninja of Love
Brainpower
Do You Like My Wang?
He Says She Says
Do You Like Boys?
Swimming Pool
Afterparty
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- Freezepop to release new album
- Freezepop set to release new album
- New Freezepop CD and live dates on the way
REVIEWS
Freezepop
Future Future Future Perfect
Rephlektor Inkorporated
Posted: Monday, November 19, 2007
By: Trubie Turner
By: Trubie Turner
Riding high from their appearances in the ultra popular video games Guitar Hero I and II, Freezepop's latest release shows an occasional increase in maturity from the band, but it's not quite enough to raise them above the status of "novelty act."
The epitome of geek chic returns with their first non-self-released album, Future Future Future Perfect. Longtime fans should be happy that working with a label has not changed them, and the album still features their trademark '80s-esque synth lines and the monotone vocal delivery of singer, Liz Enthusiasm.
For those unfamiliar with Freezepop, like a fat guy named "Slim" or a tall guy named "Tiny," Liz Enthusiasm's singing style is very much the opposite of her name, at times sounding like a slightly tone-inclined spoken word. Upon first listen, this can be very off-putting, but given time, it is likely to grow on you. What is more off-putting is the painfully saccharine and girly contents of many of the songs on the album. Tracks such as "Pop Music is Not a Crime," "Thought Balloon," and "Do You Like Boys?" are each incredibly sugary and reminiscent of some of the worst bubblegum pop from the '80s. Each of these songs also feature some of the most boring, plain, and uninspired programming on the entire album.
Another trademark of Freezepop, their not-so-serious tongue-in-cheek writing, is in ample supply in Future Future Future Perfect, but is of varying success. "Do You Like My Wang?" may be a not very subtle double entendre also referring to a Wang Computer, but it does manage to remain humorous and entertaining after repeated listens thanks in part its strong composition. "Brainpower," a song about coming up with a band while drunk, is cute on the first listen, but quickly loses its luster. The biggest failure in the humor department comes from the track "Afterparty." The first half of "Afterparty" is an instrumental arrangement, which sounds suspiciously like Vangelis' ending title track from Blade Runner with a heavier beat. For the second half of the song, the music is accompanied by Liz Enthusiasm telling the story of someone's hair gel being stolen. It may be good for a mild chuckle once, but that's it.
The true strength of this album lies in the tracks "Less Talk More Rokk," "Frontload," and "Swimming Pool." Sure to already be very familiar to anyone who owns Guitar Hero II, "Less Talk More Rokk" is a very high energy and catchy song that is a great kickoff to this album. The biggest surprise on the album is the track "Frontload." It is easily one of the best written, programmed, and put together Freezepop tracks to date and is only marred by the word "awesomeness" being used in the chorus. It is a very mature track with great composition that is hopefully a herald of what is to come from Freezepop in the future. Another peak at this potential future maturity from the band comes in the dreamy ballad, "Swimming Pool," which tells a tale of a romantic late night encounter at a swimming pool. Unlike the other previously mentioned sickly sweet songs, "Swimming Pool" manages to be very girly and sweet but is not heavy-handed about it and comes across as a very touching tale that allows the listener to perfectly visualize that night.
Future Future Future Perfect does completely succeed in being a fun album, but unfortunately the novelty of it quickly begins to wear thin and some of the songs that were at first cute or humorous become annoying or cheesy. Thanks to the great strength of songs like "Less Talk More Rokk," "Frontload," and "Swimming Pool," it has more longevity than a Weird Al Yankovic album, but as long as uninspired tracks like "Pop Music is Not a Crime" continue to pop up on their albums, Freezepop is likely to remain just another novelty act. Longtime fans and the coffee house scene are likely to eat this album up, but for those who have only been exposed to Freezepop via their video game appearances, it would probably be in their best interest to have their only exposure to them be in that medium.
For those unfamiliar with Freezepop, like a fat guy named "Slim" or a tall guy named "Tiny," Liz Enthusiasm's singing style is very much the opposite of her name, at times sounding like a slightly tone-inclined spoken word. Upon first listen, this can be very off-putting, but given time, it is likely to grow on you. What is more off-putting is the painfully saccharine and girly contents of many of the songs on the album. Tracks such as "Pop Music is Not a Crime," "Thought Balloon," and "Do You Like Boys?" are each incredibly sugary and reminiscent of some of the worst bubblegum pop from the '80s. Each of these songs also feature some of the most boring, plain, and uninspired programming on the entire album.
Another trademark of Freezepop, their not-so-serious tongue-in-cheek writing, is in ample supply in Future Future Future Perfect, but is of varying success. "Do You Like My Wang?" may be a not very subtle double entendre also referring to a Wang Computer, but it does manage to remain humorous and entertaining after repeated listens thanks in part its strong composition. "Brainpower," a song about coming up with a band while drunk, is cute on the first listen, but quickly loses its luster. The biggest failure in the humor department comes from the track "Afterparty." The first half of "Afterparty" is an instrumental arrangement, which sounds suspiciously like Vangelis' ending title track from Blade Runner with a heavier beat. For the second half of the song, the music is accompanied by Liz Enthusiasm telling the story of someone's hair gel being stolen. It may be good for a mild chuckle once, but that's it.
The true strength of this album lies in the tracks "Less Talk More Rokk," "Frontload," and "Swimming Pool." Sure to already be very familiar to anyone who owns Guitar Hero II, "Less Talk More Rokk" is a very high energy and catchy song that is a great kickoff to this album. The biggest surprise on the album is the track "Frontload." It is easily one of the best written, programmed, and put together Freezepop tracks to date and is only marred by the word "awesomeness" being used in the chorus. It is a very mature track with great composition that is hopefully a herald of what is to come from Freezepop in the future. Another peak at this potential future maturity from the band comes in the dreamy ballad, "Swimming Pool," which tells a tale of a romantic late night encounter at a swimming pool. Unlike the other previously mentioned sickly sweet songs, "Swimming Pool" manages to be very girly and sweet but is not heavy-handed about it and comes across as a very touching tale that allows the listener to perfectly visualize that night.
Future Future Future Perfect does completely succeed in being a fun album, but unfortunately the novelty of it quickly begins to wear thin and some of the songs that were at first cute or humorous become annoying or cheesy. Thanks to the great strength of songs like "Less Talk More Rokk," "Frontload," and "Swimming Pool," it has more longevity than a Weird Al Yankovic album, but as long as uninspired tracks like "Pop Music is Not a Crime" continue to pop up on their albums, Freezepop is likely to remain just another novelty act. Longtime fans and the coffee house scene are likely to eat this album up, but for those who have only been exposed to Freezepop via their video game appearances, it would probably be in their best interest to have their only exposure to them be in that medium.
