Quick Hits: turn up the radio edition

It's kind of ironic that Provincial Parks close out Iron Ponies with a song called "Too Indie For The CBC". After all, every other song which has preceded it on the EP (which, presumably, you can acquire if you contact them) seems to be dedicated to being as acceptable to as many radio stations, CBC included, as possible.

I don't mean this in the perjorative sense. I don't mean it in a positive way, either. It's just kind of a neutral statement of fact, which basically reflects my feelings toward the album. I'm sure some people could find songs like "Love/Confidence" to be the most amazing thing ever, while others may find it to be totally appalling in its eagerness to please, but all I'm able to muster towards Iron Ponies is indifference.



...which brings us to The Free Press. Much like Provincial Parks, The Free Press make no attempt to hide their desire for mainstream radio success. Unlike Iron Ponies, however, Half-Truths and Whole Lies is able to stir some kind of reaction from me.

Unfortunately for The Free Press, however, that reaction was to turn the album off. Every time I tried listening to Half-Truths..., I'd get through a song or two before finding that the whole package -- the overproduced guitars, the overdone vocals, the overwrought lyrics, the sameness of all the songs -- made it impossible to take any more. Eventually I made it all the way through, but I'd be lying if I said it was a particularly enjoyable experience. If you're the kind of person who likes U2-esque rock but you don't feel like revisiting that band's better moments, you may enjoy songs like "Stop The War". Otherwise, you'll just want to skip over this altogether.



At the other end of the enjoyability spectrum, Michael Rault may not put much energy into being innovative (shoe tambourine notwithstanding), but Crash! Boom! Bang! suggests that that's about the only thing he doesn't put energy into. On his debut EP, Rault sounds like he stepped straight out of the '50s or '60s, as if one of those early garage rockers somehow found his way into a time machine. Songs like "The Flood" and "Honey Bee" are rollicking good times, with Rault demonstrating that he has the chops -- both vocal and guitar -- to pull off his retro sound without sounding dated or derivative in any way. Sure, the songs may not be all that original...but they may also be covers (since three of the eight tracks are), and the fact it's impossible to tell which are covers and which are Rault's own compositions says more about his ability as a songwriter -- and the album's quality overall -- than anything else I could say possibly will.