SingMeInsomnia
04/10/10, 09:47 AM
Never Shout Never - What Is Love?
Record Label: Loveway Records / Sire / Warner Bros.
Release Date: January 26, 2010
We are all guilty music pleasures. Some secretly memorize all of the Backstreet Boy's dance moves, and some enjoy themselves when they are dragged to see a Jonas Brothers or Justin Bieber concert. Never Shout Never is kind of like the guilty pleasure for fans of the catchy-pop-acoustic-hippie-folk subgenre. I admit I was a huge fan of him and his little ukulele back in the day. However, with his latest albums, his Beatles covers, and the doomed-from-the-start plan of covering "Bohemian Rhapsody" (I know, I can't believe it either), I feel like it's the perfect time to write an unbiased yet opinionated review of the parental-advisory-stickered What is Love.
"Love Is Our Weapon" (reminiscent of his chest tattoo), starts off reasonably well. Head-bobbingly catchy yet laughably cheesy, this is one of the stand-out tracks. I had high hopes for the album after hearing this song. "Jane Doe" is a short song about falling in love with a girl he doesn't even know the name of. At 1 minute 56 seconds, you can't help but feel a little ripped off, especially if you bought the songs track by track. "Can't Stand It" is great when you first hear it, but after several listens, it gets annoying. You can almost picture his fans screaming "superfucking cute" at his performances. This song is ridiculously cheesy and his voice is laughable. It's like an audio version of dripping maple syrup, sprinkled with sugar and frosting. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the sensitive "Sacrilegious". The message is great and the lyrics a slight improvement, but I just can't quite get past the "emotional" whine he turns his voice into.
"I Love You 5" is another stand-out track. It's a great choice for a single, and has many attributes of his past EPs. "California" starts off cheesy, but the chorus packs a punch. Undoubtedly his 'Californ-I-A's' make you like him a little bit more. Again, true to his style, Christofer belts out his catchy melodies. The 'Shout' (his backup band), had a bigger part in this song. The song "What Is Love" is has a solid set of lyrics, but the vocals are questionable. The way he strains his voice and the overly emotional way he sings stops me from enjoying this song. And by overly emotional, I mean it's like you can almost picture him crying/wailing. The final song "The Past" is the longest song on the album, at 4:07. Come to think of it, it's longer than "Sacrilegious" and "Jane Doe" put together. A partial reason why this song is so long is because it seems like he's just dragging it on and on. However, with lyrics like "I've been smoking the green since I was merely sixteen", you feel like it is the most emotional song on this album for him.
"What is Love" is a debatable record. Although he is starting to break away from the tweeny-pop style he had started to establish in "Demo-schmemo", it is a step in the right direction. True to his nature, his songs are short and overly sweet. With some paying just under a dollar for 2 minutes a song, it's almost as much of a rip-off as his $16 Never Shout Never t-shirts that just say his name on them. It's also worth noting that Butch Walker had a part in producing this. Nonetheless, unless he changes his vocal stylings, he will continue to hold back listeners. Most can't stand his high-pitched sugary-cutesy voice, but I suppose that's what gets the girls screaming hysterically. This album did not entirely change my views of him, nor does it make me take him seriously as a legitimate singer but like all of his albums, it has its ups and deep sugar-coated angsty downs.
"Love Is Our Weapon"; "I Love You 5"; "California"
Jason Mraz; The Scene Aesthetic; Stephan Jerzak; Secondhand Serenade
myspace.com/nevershoutnever (http://www.myspace.com/nevershoutnever)
Record Label: Loveway Records / Sire / Warner Bros.
Release Date: January 26, 2010
We are all guilty music pleasures. Some secretly memorize all of the Backstreet Boy's dance moves, and some enjoy themselves when they are dragged to see a Jonas Brothers or Justin Bieber concert. Never Shout Never is kind of like the guilty pleasure for fans of the catchy-pop-acoustic-hippie-folk subgenre. I admit I was a huge fan of him and his little ukulele back in the day. However, with his latest albums, his Beatles covers, and the doomed-from-the-start plan of covering "Bohemian Rhapsody" (I know, I can't believe it either), I feel like it's the perfect time to write an unbiased yet opinionated review of the parental-advisory-stickered What is Love.
"Love Is Our Weapon" (reminiscent of his chest tattoo), starts off reasonably well. Head-bobbingly catchy yet laughably cheesy, this is one of the stand-out tracks. I had high hopes for the album after hearing this song. "Jane Doe" is a short song about falling in love with a girl he doesn't even know the name of. At 1 minute 56 seconds, you can't help but feel a little ripped off, especially if you bought the songs track by track. "Can't Stand It" is great when you first hear it, but after several listens, it gets annoying. You can almost picture his fans screaming "superfucking cute" at his performances. This song is ridiculously cheesy and his voice is laughable. It's like an audio version of dripping maple syrup, sprinkled with sugar and frosting. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the sensitive "Sacrilegious". The message is great and the lyrics a slight improvement, but I just can't quite get past the "emotional" whine he turns his voice into.
"I Love You 5" is another stand-out track. It's a great choice for a single, and has many attributes of his past EPs. "California" starts off cheesy, but the chorus packs a punch. Undoubtedly his 'Californ-I-A's' make you like him a little bit more. Again, true to his style, Christofer belts out his catchy melodies. The 'Shout' (his backup band), had a bigger part in this song. The song "What Is Love" is has a solid set of lyrics, but the vocals are questionable. The way he strains his voice and the overly emotional way he sings stops me from enjoying this song. And by overly emotional, I mean it's like you can almost picture him crying/wailing. The final song "The Past" is the longest song on the album, at 4:07. Come to think of it, it's longer than "Sacrilegious" and "Jane Doe" put together. A partial reason why this song is so long is because it seems like he's just dragging it on and on. However, with lyrics like "I've been smoking the green since I was merely sixteen", you feel like it is the most emotional song on this album for him.
"What is Love" is a debatable record. Although he is starting to break away from the tweeny-pop style he had started to establish in "Demo-schmemo", it is a step in the right direction. True to his nature, his songs are short and overly sweet. With some paying just under a dollar for 2 minutes a song, it's almost as much of a rip-off as his $16 Never Shout Never t-shirts that just say his name on them. It's also worth noting that Butch Walker had a part in producing this. Nonetheless, unless he changes his vocal stylings, he will continue to hold back listeners. Most can't stand his high-pitched sugary-cutesy voice, but I suppose that's what gets the girls screaming hysterically. This album did not entirely change my views of him, nor does it make me take him seriously as a legitimate singer but like all of his albums, it has its ups and deep sugar-coated angsty downs.
"Love Is Our Weapon"; "I Love You 5"; "California"
Jason Mraz; The Scene Aesthetic; Stephan Jerzak; Secondhand Serenade
myspace.com/nevershoutnever (http://www.myspace.com/nevershoutnever)