REVIEW: Peter Searcy, Could You Please and Thank You (Time Bomb)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Peter Searcy's publicists know what they need to do. They've already positioned a little ditty called "Hateful" in the background of Dawson's Creek soundtrack and are pimping "Losing Light Fast" as the next big video. It could happen. Anything could. Searcy's latest album, a solo effort, is called Could You Please And Thank You. It's a fairly average recording of spunky, toe-tapping pop music with a bit of angst and guitar crunch thrown in along the way.
Unfortunately, it doesn't all seem kosher. See, Searcy is the former leader of Big Wheel. Big Wheel was one of my favorite "sounds kinda like R.E.M. or The Replacements" indie bands from the '90s along with The Connells, Goo Goo Dolls, and Dharma Bums. Unfortunately, those bands came almost 10 years too early for Dawson's Creek, and with the exception of the Goo Goo Dolls, all were completely ignored on the radio. Now Searcy, finds himself in the middle of a radio landscape that sounds remarkably like what he and groups like The Connells were making years ago, only dominated by bands like Third Eye Blind who are produced into pure pop perfection. So, what's a guy to do? Make an album that will sell records, right?
Not that there's really anything wrong with that. It's just that Could You Please and Thank You sounds and feels a bit pre-fabricated. Maybe cookie cutter is a better phrase? Need a punchy, high powered track? Ch-kunk... try "Bored." What about the mellow, heartfelt song? Ch-kunk... how about "Nothing"? And on and on. Big Wheel had a refined and earnest sound to them years ago. Back then, Searcy seemed to be releasing parts of his soul on each song. But Could You Please and Thank You doesn't have time for that. It's got an edge. It's driven. The melodies aren't bad. And that's about it.
Take the lead track, "Furniture". It starts off up-tempo and with a crunchy guitar riff and stays that way through the whole song. Every instrument is turned up loud, and even though there's a good beat, the effect is that the song feels forced. Lyrically, it makes the point that even though life is boring, if you change things around it "might not change your life, but then again it might."
Which, is pretty much how you might approach Could You Please and Thank You. You might not like this album, but then again you might. This is straight forward pop/rock that doesn't move much beyond the genre. Hints of Searcy's past skill at writing great songs and insightful lyrics are seen here and there in some of the tracks, but there isn't really even a single song that stands out on the album. Maybe I'm just overreacting because Searcy solo isn't the same as Big Wheel, but I don't think so. The sample track at http://www.timebombrecordings.com of "Bored" represents the entire album fairly well. It's got an urgent beat with ringing guitars, and, well, that's about the end of it. If "Bored" grabs you, the rest of the album will too because, frankly, the songs are pretty much all interchangeable. So, if the tracks seem a bit repetitious, don't say I didn't warn you.
