I Get Wet - Andrew W.K. > Reviews > Ultra cool or just wet - one or the other

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	Stomping tunes
Disadvantages:	A bit on the retro side

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you haven't heard of Andrew WK yet, it's a safe bet that you will before long. Seems to me he could even be the next big music megastar.
But it could go either way…

Take the cover of his album, "I get Wet". It has a photo of Andrew WK with a bloody nose. (That's not swearing - I mean there's blood pouring down his face)
It doesn't look like it's from a nose bleed, but somehow he doesn't look all that, you know, fearsome. I believe that Mr WK is known for banging a brick against his head. Great idea - instant parental disapproval there - so far so good. The photo on the back is less remarkable, however, with Andrew looking like a greasyhaired kid who's about due at his Mum's to get his jeans washed. He could either be viewed as ultra-cool, or as ridiculous.
He's just 22 years old, from LA originally, and latterly New York, and we're told that the W.K stands for White Killer, after a serial killer.

And on to the music…
Again, it could be the next big thing… or maybe not… The single "Party hard" was released around a month ago, I heard it in my local record shop and it blew me away, it had 'instant hit' stamped all over it, in my view. It's not in the charts as yet, though - so much for that! Jo Whiley played it a lot - I guess it may not appeal to the 10 year olds who buy most stuff in the charts. The song itself is a glamrock-fest, high octane stomping rock, very much along the lines of Kiss, but, better than that, Cheap Trick (remember them?).

The lyrics are very simplistic - things like "Let's get a party goin", (kind of like the Beastie's "fight for your right to party" chorus), and very, very easy to sing along with, even if you're drunk.
Most of the musicians playing with him on this album have a speed-metal background, but I'd say Andrew WK is sheer powerpop, the kind where I'm just gonna have to turn the volume UP. The album sounds remarkably like it could have been released in the 70s (with Cheap Trick and Alice Cooper as reference points), and it starts with a fanfare on opening track "I get wet".
A glance at the rest of the titles on the album gives you some idea of the mentality - "It's time to party", "Party Til you Puke" and "Fun night" are good examples. With "Fun night" some 80s style synthesisers supplement the guitars, but somehow it doesn't seem to matter.

You could call "Girls Own Love" a song about love, though probably by someone who hasn't really got a clue about romance (well, what do you think, with lyrics like "you've got to make her understand, that you're a man"). More gentle is "She is beautiful", which slows down the pace, keyboards to the fore, and once again I am blown over by the resemblance to Cheap Trick. Note: for me, this is a bonus - I love them, even own their CD box set.

Oh well, back to Andrew WK. Overall, the songs are ludicrously simple, and they're often grunted / shouted, rather than sung, but, through it all, although I suspect I shouldn't like it, I really enjoyed the album. It's a bit like when I first played my Gary Glitter album - I knew it was derivative, but it was just so… distinctive, and made me want to go out and have a good time.

Andrew WK came to fame as a sort of protégé of Dave Grohl's, after opening for the Foo Fighters. Whether he's destined for superstardom, or obscurity, I don't know, but he's certainly made his mark with me.

Come to think of it, I'm glad the first single hasn't zoomed up the charts - could cause the usual burnout / sellout, and slide into pandering to MTV executives.