Vanessa Ng
In a world where R&B, rock and punk music seem to rule the airwaves, The Click 5 (I still find myself humming Backstreet Boys’ tunes sometimes), I can’t pretend that I’m not a sucker for pop sing-a-long tunes. releases an album that frees that teenybopper in me. Yes, no matter how much I try to deny it.
But don’t expect the Click 5’s sophomore album, Modern Minds and Pastimes, to resemble your favourite boybands from the 90s because their music, although mostly catchy power-pop tunes, also includes a fusion of experimental retro, rock and electro.
While we hear more of bands replacing instrumentalists, The Click 5 had to find a replacement for their ex-lead vocalist, Eric Dill, who according to Tv.com left the band to pursue a solo and acting career. Dill, known for his high-pitched, boy-on-the-verge-of-voice-breaking vocals was what (according to Wikipedia) drove the band’s 2005 single “Just the Girl” to peak at #11 on US Billboard Charts. As fate would have it, they pulled in 21-year-old Kyle Patrick, who also happens to draw loads of female attention with his pretty boy looks.
The other members of the band are Joe Guese on lead guitar, Ethan Mentzer on bass, Ben Romans on keyboards and Joey Zehr on drums. With the new addition, the entire band comprises of graduates from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, so no one can label the band as just a bunch of pretty faces.
The band sounds evidently different from its debut album, Greetings from Imrie Houseespecially with Patrick’s deeper vocals. However in a recent interview with John J. Moser, the band assured fans that their “songwriting and musicianship has never wavered, it’s only been strengthened with their new addition”.
Admittedly, the 2 years between albums have not given them new insights on women going by the still cheesy lyrics that reflect nothing but a shallow perspective on girls, love and fun. The chorus of “Addicted to Me” goes like this, “Don’t you know that I’ll be here forever, even if you leave, and if you look for something better…”
In most circumstances, I’d cringe in disgust and the cynic in me would not hesitate to scoff at such cruddy lyrics. But the lyrics and catchy melodies meld into such stunning pop perfection that you might think that their music is merely a satire, deliberately manufactured to poke fun at the current situation of the music industry. If that’s the case, I’d say their record label made a brilliant move.
Another redeeming factor about this album is that they don’t seem to be trying to pass their music off as punk or rock unlike some other bands like punk wannabes, Simple Plan. Instead, The Click 5 is content with playing mostly power-pop, while at the same time including some other sub-genres.
Among the 12 tracks on the album, “Addicted to Me” is notably different and justifably addictive (excuse the pun). The song’s excessive use of synthesizers and dynamic syncopated bass beats will bring you back to the 80s’ and fit right in a retro club. The pulsating beat and constant electronic sounds that are in “Headlight Disco” make an awesome party tune with Patrick’s repetitive line that goes, “Oh oh oh oh… To a headlight disco”. Damn right, this song makes you wanna dance.
If you miss the good old days of Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync with their sappy love songs, “MaryJane” and “Reason Why” are the ballads that have all the elements of a potential boy band hit.
The only track that I have doubts about is rock-influenced “A Long Way to Go”, not because of the music or lyrics but because it sounds uncannily like The Bravery’s “An Honest Mistake”. Maybe it’s just me but it sure sounded like a rip-off.
The album ends on a nice note with the sappiest track on the album, “Empty”. The song succeeds in capturing the feeling of emptiness when missing someone, especially since an article on Eventful.com states that Patrick curled himself up in a fetal position during recording to capture that emotion.
It seems that having a new singer didn’t do much harm to the band’s music after all. And if there was any harm done, you can’t tell from the album as it proves to be worthy of the ‘repeat all’ button on your music player.
UrbanWire givesModern Minds and Pastimes 4 out of 5 stars.
Modern Minds and Pastimes is available in record stores now