The press release with this CD states that making a comparison to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be “lazy”. Lazy it might be, but it’s quite obvious that The deBretts are rather keen on making their own date with the night (ah, you see what I did there?) and their version involves a simplification of beats, vocals… and, well, pretty much everything, to be honest.
The phrase ‘watered down’ was built for CDs like this as the oft-quoted cliché of style over substance doesn’t quite pack a sufficient enough punch. First track ‘Is It Me’ could quite easily have the jacketed hoards dancing in your local indie club and wouldn’t look out of place on MTV2, but there’s just not enough there. The basics are there, but it’s lacking a soul – hooks aren’t strong enough, vocals are too reminiscent of pop songs from many, many years gone by (apparently actually naming this influence as Blondie, which it blatantly is, is, once again, “lazy”) and there’s a complete lack of overbearing coolness which is what popular indie today is thriving on. Tripartite repetition always helps in getting a point across.
4 tracks – 3 bland, 1 abysmal one in the shape of track 3 Get Me Out (A sentiment you’ll relate to upon first listen) and a lack of any distinct feature mean that The deBretts pass you by.
www.thedebretts.com
Spud
