A clattering drum, clean, trebly jangling guitar and surf harmony vocal heralds the opening of 'All I See,' the Brit-poppy first track on 'Rock Bottom,' an album recorded three years ago, completed two years ago, launched last year but only just now seeing the light of day. The question is, was it worth the wait?
Tracks like 'Jack Jones,' 'Sunlight Hurts My Eyes' and 'One of the Crowd' are bursting with melodies and harmonies that the Beach Boys would have been proud of, and even the slower tracks possess a jaunty cheeriness that's both toe-tapping and uplifting. However, I can't tell if lyrics like 'you'd better get yourself a backbone or something to walk with - or something / you'd better get yourself a WAP phone or something to talk with - or something / you'd better get yourself a blackboard or something to chalk with - or something' are intentionally clumpy or the result of shameful lethargy. There's a fine line between genius and madness, cleverness and crassness.
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The production's a tad variable, too, with some of the additional extraneous sounds detracting from the breezy simplicity of the compositions, with 'Love is Overrated' particularly suffering from this tendency to cram extras onto the unused tracks.
Ultimately, the songs aren't quite catchy or unique enough to be truly special, and there simply isn't enough about 'Rock Bottom' that's suitably different enough to stand out from the countless vaguely quirky, chirpy indie pop albums around from the last three years (or the last ten, come to think of it). So, while it's pleasant enough and all, it's certainly not essential listening, and as such, really wasn't worth the wait.
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