Secret Handshake, The - My Name Up in Lights

[Jeremy Aaron]

The Secret Handshake - My Name Up in Lights
Record Label: Triple Crown Records
Release Date: April 21, 2009

Who?

Luis Dubuc, the one man electro-tinged act alternatively known as The Secret Handshake, is back with his second full-length for Triple Crown.

How Is It?

For me, My Name Up in Lights seems like a make-or-break album for The Secret Handshake. His debut, One Full Year, was nothing Earth-shattering, but nonetheless contained moments that even someone like myself, with tastes more rooted in '90s indie-rock than anything else, found charming. There's no doubt that it exuded a bit of immaturity, but offered some reasons for optimism, with tracks like the slow-burning "Midnight Movie," on which the often-reviled vocoder effects added a sinewy texture to Dubuc's vocal, and ironically, seemed to inject more emotion into the song than his voice alone would have done. In short, that album exhibited that all-important potential, but left plenty of room for growth.

For those with similar thoughts on the debut, who thought that My Name Up in Lights might actually be a solid electro-pop offering, I'm sorry to say that it's not that at all. There are, indeed, songs that aren't bad on their own, but as a whole, the album has some major flaws that run through it, pretty much ruining its enjoyability. For one, the vocal performances leave a lot to be desired and are occasionally cringe-worthy. It's not the Auto-tune-- as I stated before, this has been a positive factor in some of his songs before-- but the fact that he sounds unpolished and ill at ease behind the microphone. Frankly, Dubuc has a stiff vocal quality and uses awkward enunciations and accentuations, similar to what hinders singers like Shaant Hacikyan, Seth Trotter (The Higher) and Andrew de Torres (Danger Radio), and it's something that the Auto-tune simply can't hide. If the tweener girl demographic is what you're aiming for, this appears to be the way to go, but while they shake their asses, the rest of us are just going to shake our heads.

Secondly, Dubuc seems to have regressed as a lyricist, focusing more on schoolboy crush songs than on anything with real substance. Since the guy is happily in a relationship now, it's understandable that these songs would lean toward the happier side, but they're also sophomoric, such that anyone past, say, tenth grade would find them cheesy at best. Just a note to those young guys hearing stuff like "Little Song" ("I wanna write the soundtrack to your life and live it with you"), and "Saturday" ("You thought we were just friends, but all this time, I had plans to make you more, maybe be my girlfriend"): acting this bubbly around girls is not smooth and will not get you laid. You'll just look like a loser.

On a positive note, Dubuc does a solid job of writing catchy pop melodies, and on the whole, they sound pretty good musically. Case in point are the two strongest songs on the album, "What's Wrong" and "Hey Girl," which surprisingly were not among the songs exposed to the masses prior to the release, as they would seem to be the most marketable. The former is a mid-80's-styled pop number that generally avoids the missteps found on the rest of the album, while the latter is equally catchy, but is also indicative of the fact that Dubuc showed up for class during Pop Music Cliches 101 ("I don't want to be your lover, if you don't want to be my friend"), though admittedly, it sounds like something that would be covered on American Idol, a compliment I guess, considering the style of music.

I'll only comment briefly on how discouraged I am that, on the press release, Dubuc claims that the '90s are a major influence on this record, as that decade produced some amazing music, both underground and mainstream, and My Name Up in Lights simply doesn't measure up with even the least memorable albums of that era. Perhaps the press release also offered some insight as to why that is: Dubuc says, "I didn't want anyone else to have input. I wanted to just do it. No one could stop me from doing anything." I can't deny Dubuc's ability to arrange a pop song, but he might want to question his career as a frontman. Had someone else written lyrics for and sung these songs, something quite a bit better might have resulted. As it stands, My Name Up in Lights has a few moments of relative brilliance, but mostly disappoints.

Hellogoodbye's Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
Rediscover's Out of Touch
Love Arcade's Love Arcade
The Higher's On Fire
The Cab's Whisper War

Check out The Secret Handshake on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/thesecrethandshake).

[Keagan Ilvonen]

I still need to give this a listen, Luis is always reliable for making a few great pop tracks. Nice job.

[more heart]

His last record was just ok to me. From what I've heard from this record so far, I believe it could be better than One Full Year.

[AlkalineAvA]

im seeing him with tds, actually really stoked for that. so i might pick this up when i go to that show. he was actually really good imo last time he came through here.

[providence36]

Sounds very disappointing so far in my opinion. His bubbly-cheesey lyrics are really annoying

[Formatfun]

I'm liking this, honestly. Should I be listening to this before One Full Year?

EDIT: Not loooving it, but I can't say it's bad.

[Broden Terry]

I'll still check this out. Good review.

[I am Mick]

I'll give it a sincere listen, but not expecting much. I'll have to agree with the lyrics, the songs released were amazingly weak in that department

edit: post 11,11 for me. making a wish. BANG

[therookielot]

He should just do his hardcore band thing. I hate bands like this.

[brenByah]

I can never get into anything with a vocoder. It always seems like a crutch to hide vocals.

[Spenny]

I heard Saturday and liked it, but this album is disappointing on first listen.
It just doesn't mesh well together. But there are some highlights. Saturday and What's Wrong, for instance.

[lovewithcaution]

He should just do his hardcore band thing. I hate bands like this.
I'm so tired of hardcore music, I'd rather hear a vocoder and auto-tuned vocals on top of decent music than some dude screaming for 3 minutes (usually 2 minutes) and understanding 2 words out of 100.

[denissuxx]

Similar to my opinions about the album. I can definitly see the lyrical regression

acting this bubbly around girls is not smooth and will not get you laid. You'll just look like a loser.

This made me laugh. Brilliant.

[birtcho]

im looking forward to listening to this

[shotguns]

He should just do his hardcore band thing. I hate bands like this.

Do you honestly think there's not enough hardcore bands out there?

[nicko]

I liked the album.

I think there is some nice pop songs, and he can certainly write a hook and a sweet, simple melody. He seriously needs to improve some of his lyrics though, some are so cheesy.

The last Song is the strongest track imo. What's wrong is ok too. I'd give it 7/10 --> enjoyable, but it doesn't have high replayability and it certainly doesn't stretch any boundaries

[BigAl]

I still want the record anyways.

[trappedintime]

Luis had written such a catchy album and one that I really enjoyed before. I'm disappointed with this one. I think it stayed too immature. But nonetheless, I'll check this out because I support this guy.

[Lamboo]

I love this record. good cheesy pop punk.

[mysensesfailed3]

i mean its nothing that actually great, but its a lot of fun to listen to

[cdon15]

I like it it, but not as much as One Full Year. Still, very catchy.

[AdamChildress]

I'm so tired of hardcore music, I'd rather hear a vocoder and auto-tuned vocals on top of decent music than some dude screaming for 3 minutes (usually 2 minutes) and understanding 2 words out of 100.
I sort of take offense to that, because with a ton of hardcore bands, or whatever you want to call them...

There are bands that you can perfectly understand and if you listen to the genre enough, the case is that you can understand most bands that scream.

I don't know, I just find it offensive to put a whole genre into a stereotype, just like someone would put pop punk, or indie music into a genre...it just is not fair to the artists who do it for a living.

[getupkid619]

I love this record. good cheesy pop punk.
where do u get pop punk from?

[brenByah]

Do you honestly think there's not enough hardcore bands out there?
True, but honestly don't you think there's enough electro pop bands out there now?

[therookielot]

I'm so tired of hardcore music, I'd rather hear a vocoder and auto-tuned vocals on top of decent music than some dude screaming for 3 minutes (usually 2 minutes) and understanding 2 words out of 100.


Do you honestly think there's not enough hardcore bands out there?

you guys are just pussies/not metal enough

HARDCORE 4 LYFE

[Colinreturn]

I like it it, but not as much as One Full Year. Still, very catchy.
same here.

[Joe DeAndrea]

Thought this album ruled. I like it much more than OFY.

[Broclee]

I sort of take offense to that, because with a ton of hardcore bands, or whatever you want to call them...

There are bands that you can perfectly understand and if you listen to the genre enough, the case is that you can understand most bands that scream.

I don't know, I just find it offensive to put a whole genre into a stereotype, just like someone would put pop punk, or indie music into a genre...it just is not fair to the artists who do it for a living.

The same could be said of whatever you call the genre The Secret Handshake belongs to.

[cory-182]

where do u get pop punk from?
I was just going to comment on that too.

Apparently any poppy band covered on this site is considered pop punk nowadays.

[HelpMeSleep]

nice review. I listened through this once earlier and didn't think it was anything special on a first listen.

[HometownHero]

This album was so bad

[romanticterror]

Correction: His debut was actually Antarctica.

[Analog Rebellion]

Correction: His debut was actually Antarctica.
Full length debut?

[jakemarsh]

I disagree with this review. This CD really made me step back and go "Whoa, Luis grew up and wrote some really intricate and complicated stuff." I really enjoyed it and while every single song might not have infinite re-playability, there are at least 4 or 5 songs that do. I'll definitely be putting many of the songs on this cd onto a few playlists in my iTunes soon.

[Ryzenfall]

Could never get into this guy.
His lyrics kill any hope of me liking whatever he puts behind them.

[Broden Terry]

I dislike the lyrics and maybe the vocals at times, but I find myself enjoying this album when I look for the positives instead of thinking about it's faults and flaws.

[thespearkid]

I disagree with this review. This CD really made me step back and go "Whoa, Luis grew up and wrote some really intricate and complicated stuff." I really enjoyed it and while every single song might not have infinite re-playability, there are at least 4 or 5 songs that do. I'll definitely be putting many of the songs on this cd onto a few playlists in my iTunes soon.
Where do you see intricate and complex on this record? I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm legitimately asking.

[Nick Le]

I love this record. good cheesy pop punk.

where do u get pop punk from?

I'd like to know as well.

I was just going to comment on that too.

Apparently any poppy band covered on this site is considered pop punk nowadays.

Trueeee.

That said, I'm really enjoying this album. It's so catchy and fun.

[SteveD]

As long as the album has a catchy song or two I'll be happy. Not every album that I listen to has to have the most meaningful lyrics ever, not every song has to be about a breakup rather then getting together with someone. If it makes 15 year old girls dance I don't care, just as long as I find the song to my liking I could care less.

Still haven't listened to the album yet. I will eventually.

Well written review as usual. Kudos brodos.

[denissuxx]

Full length debut?
Yes, full length debut

[msy003]

I thoroughly enjoy the cd for what it is. Fun. Uber cheesy maybe, but for me being 20 yrs old at this point where summer is on it's way in, it's still a great cd to jam in my car and feel like it's going to be a spectacular day. It's obviously not ground breaking, but do you think that's where he was aiming? I'm personally very happy with this cd, but it just took a couple listens to dive into it.

And what about tgif? that song is so awesomely reminiscent for me and I love it!

[beth danger]

The album cover reminds me of High School Musical. Makes sense, because it's probably targeting the same age group.

[jared9903]

I could not disagree more. i am thoroughly impressed with this album. He put a lot of time and effort into it, and it shows. He is far more generous and talented than a lot of bands out there (in my opinion its more than most bands) and im sure he didnt work this hard just to have a handful of douchebags come and tear it down. His lyrics are not "Bubbly and Cheesy" they are uplifting and well thought-out. I would very much like to hear others' idea of great lyrics because im sure they are very reminicent of Luis'. No, he didn't write lyrics in a cliche "The Devil Wears Prada" nonsense poem style, he wrote how he felt, in a way that he saw best to describe his happy memories. If it's not your style... Great. but dont go shooting him down for doing what he wanted to. And as for the vocoder comment. its barely noticable. he's not Daft Punk.

[jared9903]

And another thing. this is AbsolutePunk.net and is therefore the complete wrong audience to have a good review from. Of Course you wont like his style. because you ( 99% of the people on this site) arent into this particular genre. Its not punk. nor will it ever be. which is fine, but i would not ever recommend this site for reviews of other genres because the author of this obviously is not into Luis' style. and another thing. you can quote me and reply with disagreeing comments all you like, this site isnt for me, no not just because of this review, nor because im angry or anything like that, but i wont be visiting much anymore, so any comments on my quotes are useless. its just my opinion.

[brenByah]

And another thing. this is AbsolutePunk.net and is therefore the complete wrong audience to have a good review from. Of Course you wont like his style. because you ( 99% of the people on this site) arent into this particular genre. Its not punk. nor will it ever be. which is fine, but i would not ever recommend this site for reviews of other genres because the author of this obviously is not into Luis' style. and another thing. you can quote me and reply with disagreeing comments all you like, this site isnt for me, no not just because of this review, nor because im angry or anything like that, but i wont be visiting much anymore, so any comments on my quotes are useless. its just my opinion.

You're free to voice your opinion, whether you agree with the review or not. I disagree with you about ap.net being the wrong audience for TSH, honestly this site probably promotes him and gives his music more attention than any other place on the net. The day his record was released the site had banners and wallpapers everywhere about it. The site has many members with varied tastes.

[Broclee]

I could not disagree more. i am thoroughly impressed with this album. He put a lot of time and effort into it, and it shows. He is far more generous and talented than a lot of bands out there (in my opinion its more than most bands) and im sure he didnt work this hard just to have a handful of douchebags come and tear it down. His lyrics are not "Bubbly and Cheesy" they are uplifting and well thought-out. I would very much like to hear others' idea of great lyrics because im sure they are very reminicent of Luis'. No, he didn't write lyrics in a cliche "The Devil Wears Prada" nonsense poem style, he wrote how he felt, in a way that he saw best to describe his happy memories. If it's not your style... Great. but dont go shooting him down for doing what he wanted to. And as for the vocoder comment. its barely noticable. he's not Daft Punk.

And another thing. this is AbsolutePunk.net and is therefore the complete wrong audience to have a good review from. Of Course you wont like his style. because you ( 99% of the people on this site) arent into this particular genre. Its not punk. nor will it ever be. which is fine, but i would not ever recommend this site for reviews of other genres because the author of this obviously is not into Luis' style. and another thing. you can quote me and reply with disagreeing comments all you like, this site isnt for me, no not just because of this review, nor because im angry or anything like that, but i wont be visiting much anymore, so any comments on my quotes are useless. its just my opinion.


Look, I respect you for voicing your opinion, but there are a few things you're missing:

1. This is a review written by a human. The whole point is for the reviewer to listen to it and give their thoughts and opinions. If you don't agree, that's fine. Write your own review.
2. The notion that 99% of the people on this site listen solely to "punk" music is laughable. Luis' style of music fits within the spectrum of music covered here nice and comfortably.
3. I'm curious as to what has so vehemently turned you away from the site. You seem pretty upset by this review, and by the site in general. I'd like for you to actually respond. You can voice your opinion, but if you want to have to discuss it with others, then you might as well have not posted.

[nodice410]

i reallly didnt care for this album this album but great review man.

[lauren1234]

I bought this album on Sunday at the show. And I must say that I enjoy it very much. Maybe I am a little biased because Luis is from Dallas and so am I and I have seen TSH 8 times now and it's hard to not like it. It's a fun, feel good album and it makes me feel good to listen to it.

[nicoloizzle]

i just bought the album and you can definitely tell he's in a relationship (NOT IN A BAD WAY!!!) if youre looking for a more popish, more happy and cute cd, this is definitely it. ive already got a couple songs stuck in my head. personally i wasnt so sure about it when i heard the free demos on myspace, but i have to admit, it grew on me and put me in a really great mood for the summer to come. =]

[Uwe Blab]

I haven't heard any of his other stuff, but I really enjoy this album.

[josephneely25]

Pretty good but not the best.