Schmack [ECD] - Steriogram > Reviews > Not Just Walkie Talkie Man!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Half Of The Songs Are Worth Listening To
Disadvantages:	The Other Half Aren't As Good

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Wow, I'm surprised nobody has heard the whole "album" in order to review it, so I guess it's my job then.

I first heard of these lads from the iPod advert (as I'm sure most of you have), with the totally groovy song "Walkie Talkie Man", which is included on this ECD. I thought the song was really catchy, so I did a bit of research on the Internet and found out about them. The band are from New Zealand and are yet to release an album (though this is near as dammit).

After having listened to Walkie Talkie Man thousands of times I decided to buy this album. I was pleasantly surprised with the content on there, because although there were catchy rock songs on there, there were also a few more mellow ones melded with rock.

Anyway, I'll give my opinions on each of the 12 tracks now:

1) Roadtrip - This is a good starter track to the album, you'll be humming the melody to this one if you listen to it too much, I know I did for a few days! The lyrics are nothing special but the tune and the beat will keep you rocking all night long, on your own little road trip.

2) Walkie Talkie Man - The one I hope you all know from the iPod advert. It doesn't get much better than this, it's definitely one of, if not the best song on the album. A great tune, surreal lyrics and that squeaky little voice of the lead singer! You gotta love it!

3) Schmack! - Possibly my favourite of the album, even above Walkie Talkie Man. I really like the lyrics to this song, and it's a good tune too, I could sing it for ages. "If you're pretty, come on..." Some good guitar solos too.

4) Was The Day - One of the misses in my opinion, but some of you might like it. The song is good enough, but it just doesn't really do it for me, I'm afraid...

5) White Trash - Another of my favourites from the CD. The chorus to this song has gotten me through a lot of hard lessons at school, and the lyrics aren't bad either, even if they are totally weird! "See my new hairdo, dyed it jet-black, well it's-a short at the front, and it's a-long at the back..."

6) In The City - The second "miss" of the album for me. It's not too memorable, and even the chorus seems horribly depressing, which is not what I like to see from these upbeat kind of guys. Just a bit too downbeat for me...

7) Go - I think I'm right in saying that Steriogram have just released this in the UK. I heard it in the gym once and just loved it! I rushed home and bought the album when I heard this song, it's another favourite of mine. You can sing along with the backing singer for this song, you'll find it hard not to after getting the words right (which are slightly less surreal in this song, might I add).

8) Fat And Proud - I'm not too keen on this song, maybe I don't relate to it or something, I don't really know. It doesn't stand out to me though, so I'll call this another miss for the lads from New Zealand.

9) Tsunami - I really enjoy listening to this song, the chorus is very soothing but the verses are quite rocking, more like their other songs. It can't just be me who thinks that they should release this for the Tsunami charity fund, surely it's perfect? But maybe it would be in bad taste, I don't really know.

10) Wind It Up - There's an excellent part in this song where the instruments stop and you just hear singing, but apart from that the song is pretty average, although the chorus is rather good. Half hit, half miss, for Wind It Up.

11) Be Good To Me - A bit of a slow song now as we're nearing the end of the album. It's a nice change to the rest of the album, and a welcome change at that. "And I thank you for each day, the days I don't deserve..."

12) On And On - A bit of a downer to go out on, but a good song all the same. Maybe I haven't listened to this one enough to learn to love it like I do some of the others.

Overall

I've inadvertently altered my opinion of the album by going through the tracks like this. They're not actually half as bad as I thought at the beginning, there are just a few tracks which don't cut the mustard. Overall though, this is a brilliant album-to-be by the New Zealand rocking lads, and I look forward to more of the same from them. I'll be humming these songs for a good while to come... 

Pictures for the review

Display pictures

The crazy Steriogram lads hang out on the beach