Amid the retro new wave frenzy of 2002-2003, Freezepop tasted fresh. Though they tilled the same ground as the more cynical of the scenesters, the Boston group’s music was more innocent, more happy, more catchy and more consistently so than even Ladytron at their occasional finest. I’m sorry to report that it was not meant to last. Sophomore slump or “we only had one album’s worth of ideas”, this CD is flat, dull, perfunctory, and even a bit sad (but not dark enough to venture into goth-wave). The lyrics on many of the songs are atrocious (even by new wave standards … or maybe I expect too much … “You spin me right ‘round baby, like a record, right ‘round”?) Even the knowing, in-joke cynicism wears thin. The sadness and stupid lyrics they could survive perhaps, but not the enervating sameness. Some acceptable tracks amid the dreck are:
1. Boppy, upbeat 8. Moody, soft 10. Moody and soft