Noisy Little Sunbeams
Noisy Little Sunbeams
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
The first few times I heard this album, I suffered the disappointment blues. It was hyped as a Red Hot Chili Peppers type project (and it isn't), plus the sonic levels on the CD (usually high and clean) were low and muddy (remember the sonic quality on the vast majority of the Pure Metal albums circa 1986 to 1989?). After several more listens, the grooves come to life in a bigger way. This album is a good party rock album. It's fun and it's rockin'. The first two cuts, "Bad Attitude" and "Kids Wanna Rock" are the best. "Bad Attitude" carries a funky groove that's very hooky. "Kids Wanna Rock" is your big, AC/DC anthemic tune. It's got that attitude, you know? There's three other rockers--"Turn or Burn," "Money in Your Pocket" and "They're Knockin'"--which all have one thing in common: big BGV's. There's plenty (too much, if you ask me) of pop rock here, with tunes like "Wanna See the Day" which sounds just like Vector, "Always in Heaven," "Do You Want It" (about AIDS) and "Live Forever," which features a giant Led Zeppelin blatant rip-off (can you say "When The Levee Breaks?"). The lyrics here are as funny and witty as anything I've seen in Christian music. "Turn or Burn" blasts Madonna in a serious way: "If only you could sing just a little in tune/You wouldn't have to wear that bra." "They're Knockin'" is a hilarious tune about Mormon missionaries: "They're just young kids straight out of school/They can't date babes or go to swimming pools/They only get to call their moms twice a year/They spread Mormon lies like volunteers...They don't like big dogs or security guards/And I know they hate sprinklers that are sittin' in yards."