|
It's no longer 1985, so comparing a band to R.E.M. isn't hackneyed any more (just clueless). But still, there's something about Lotion, particularly on a track like "Glorified," that reminds me of some alternate-universe R.E.M. that hadn't run headlong into excess fame and self-consciousness and had instead continued outside the spotlight to plot the musical course it had charted during its first few years. Lotion shares that band's Byrdsian sinuous melodies and artful arrangements, along with an emotive but aesthetic and somewhat detached lyrical outlook. What Lotion brings to their songs that makes them distinctive, though, is a supple sense of time that allows the band to shift meters and negotiate its songs' complex rhythmic structures effortlessly and naturally. They also seem a bit more inclined to, uh, boogie: the opening "Rich Cop, Poor Cop" is nearly blueprint power-pop, with its tuneful melody harmonized on the choruses and set to a thunking, chunky guitar riff-o-rama. The band even adds fake crowd noise to the middle eight, on the off-chance that you really did think this was a collaboration between the Hollies and KISS. The band fails to fall into the trap of taking itself too seriously as well: "My Name Is Prince" is not a cover, but does open with a hilariously unfunky attempt at Artist-ic funk. An anecdote, though, shows this album's real virtues: I heard "Feedback Queen," the disc's second track, the other night on WMSE, and even though I was hearing it for only the second time, I felt as if I'd known the song for years. That's what pop music should do - and what Lotion succeeds at doing for most of this CD. |
