The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" – 3:21
"Life is Hard" – 4:08
"Hairstyles and Attitudes" – 2:51
"Facts About Cats" – 3:16
"I Need You" – 3:50
"Just Another Movie" – 4:16
"Friction" – 3:44
"Cheap Black and White" – 2:54
"Shame On You" – 5:04 (Barbara K. MacDonald, Pat MacDonald)
"I Love You in the Strangest Way" – 2:41
I found this album when looking to listen to the one hit song, "Future's So Bright, I gotta Wear Shades", and I am really surprised I hadn't heard more about it before my own finding...
First song, the big hit, it's excellent, fun, cool, quirky, and still a good, solid, even great song.. tons of energy and simply an awesome song
Next song, Life is Hard, not bad, I like it, it's a little darker, pretty folky and pretty cool, the first part of the harmonica solo is a bit grating and subpar, but the second part approaches John Popper territory
Moving on to Hairstyles and Attitudes, back to the fun folky sound, it's very cool, reminds me a bit of Jimmy Buffet and has some nice guitar in it, nice, simple lyrics.. these kinds of lyrics might not be for everyone, but they are down to earth and simple.. they are very fitting of the songs.. This song is really, really good
The next song, Facts About Cats, is awesome! This song is great, it has a very simple acoustic guitar and drum pattern, but the vocals are excellent and so is the electric guitar that comes in.. simple, and awesome, very in the feeling of the album.. the lyrics are pretty fun too, it's a bit slower, but this is a great song, by the end it does get a tad repetitive, but I don't think it ruins the song..
I Need You is a bit more in the darker style of Life Is Hard.. I like this one a lot more though.. it's a very nice love song.. once again simple lyrics and instrumentation, but the lead guitar in this one gets a little more technical, it stays very tasteful though.. very tasteful.. definitely playing for the song rather than just "wanking" as some put it
This is really a nice song
Once again, a bit darker, Just Another Movie.. This lyrics are a bit more cynical and leave a bit more room to think, less fun, more intelligent, they still remain simple and pleasant to listen to.. I don't like this song all that much, but it is very good.. it doesn't bring the record down for me, I certainly wouldn't skip it.. The beginning reminds me a lot of the song White Rabbit too.. I like the Timbuk 3 song better
Friction.. This one is once again still on the darker side.. it has a bit of a reggae tinge to it which is pretty cool, not my favorite on the album, but it's a very cool song and still growing on me... There's an awesome instrumental break at about the one minute mark which is really cool, keeps the song interesting, I wasn't expecting it, and I also wasn't expecting the song to keep going with the change, which was a very, very pleasant surprise
Cheap Black and White.. Probably the simplest song on the album, it is fun and jumpy, very early rock n roll sound influenced, it's got pretty cool/fun vocals on it and a rockabilliy like guitar solo which is pretty cool
Down to the last two tracks, Shame On You.. it sounds very 80s, reminds me of mixing Blondies rap song(can't think of the title) and Fame by Bowie
I think that is on purpose.. I have a feeling this is almost like a very subtle parody or poking fun at some of the decade.. it's once again very fun and cool.. this one is good, it's also the longest on the album, clocking in at 5 minutes and 3 seconds
The last track, a good note to end on, very nice, a bit slower, very folky and very, very nice vocals.. great harmonies, which as you all know I am a complete sucker for
I love You in The Strangest Ways.. it also ends with an awesome vocal phrase
Overall, I give this album a 9.5/10, it is great, but might be a bit simplistic for some.. Lots of fun, and very well done.. production sounds solid and the instrumentation is very tasteful.. I give it a 9.5 instead of a 10, just because it's almost too simplistic for me, but it doesn't cross that threshold..
I'm really glad I found this album
