REVIEW: Super Deluxe, Via Satellite (Revolution)
- Scott Slonaker
I wish those three little blond kids sounded like this.
Seattle has always had its own little pop scene, probably formed as a release from the prevailing gloom 'n grunge. One of its shining lights are Super Deluxe, a pop band's pop band, steeped in the traditions of Redd Kross, Cheap Trick, Big Star, and the Posies. They're young, boyishly handsome, and harmonious, and probably less obnoxious than that Okie trio.
Via Satellite is the follow-up to Super Deluxe's debut, Famous , which happened to contain the best power-pop single of the last couple of years, "She Came On". Despite moderate radioplay and a cute Speed Racer-ish video, that song failed to ignite in the tragic coulda-shoulda been tradition.
This new album's irresistible single, without a doubt, is "Farrah Fawcett", a heavenly bundle of hook 'n dazzle with an "oh, yeah" chorus and monolithically huge chord changes. Singer Braden Blake's rose-tinted visions of "making out with you there in the closet (oh yeah, oh yeah)/You reminded me of Farrah Fawcett," is truly memorable. Naturally, the record company released the Britpop-y "Love Liquid Wraparound" instead, a rock-solid song in its own right but not quite up to the same level.
Yet, the strengths of Via Satellite also highlight the weaknesses. When you're a pop band after hit singles (or, as a consolation, three-minute bits of sugary nirvana), it naturally follows that some songs are destined for the A-side and some the B-side. So, for every "Your Pleasure's Mine", a catchy, Redd Kross-ish chunkfest, there's a lite-punk wannabe like "Lost In Your Failures". The pleasant piano and jangle of "Alright" lead right into the overlong and overblown "Commonplace" . The high-school-French of the bouncy "What's Up With Me" soon yields to the turgid plodding of "One In a Million". "New Variations" may parlay an overused Ramones riff into an enjoyable ride, but "Half Asleep" floats by without an impact. Breaking the pattern somewhat, the band strings two fine tunes (the jangly "Suicide Doll and the simply beautiful, spare "Years Ago") together consecutively at the end of the album. And thankfully, the now-obligatory hidden track doesn't hurt anything or leave a dull taste.
Super Deluxe has charm, chops, and charisma to burn, and one of these days, they might just catch a break. Via Satellite may be a bit hit-and-miss, but its high points are truly wonderful, and fans of the genre or band in particular shouldn't need a push to get to the record store. Anyone else wondering what happened to guitar-based pop music in the hailstorm of techno beats, horn sections, and G-funk bravado need look no further.
