“Just remember one thing,” Matt Dillon says in the movie Singles, to his bandmates played by members of Pearl Jam, “we are loved in Belgium and in Italy.” And so goes the commonly used saving grace for many a band: we are huge in Japan or we have a loyal following in South Florida. Regional fare can be used as a redeeming quality if you are the member of a band who has seen success only abroad or only in your hometown, but to the rest of us, it’s an excuse. Why aren’t you big, you know, here?
So, by telling you The Naked and Famous are huge in their home country of New Zealand, it might not be saying much. Sure, they scored a number one album back home, but for the most part, America are as bothered to check out the music of far away countries as much as they could be troubled to check out their films. Except for Lord Of The Rings; we love that shit. But, if you have tuned into the Sirius station Alternative Nation or possibly your local rock radio stop, this band that sounds strikingly like a Passion Pit and MGMT highlight reel might have caught your interest. Yes, it seems that unlike Citizen Dick and your cousin’s garage experiment, The Naked and Famous have crossed over, so to speak.
And it is not difficult to see why. As pop music goes, there are moments where The Naked and Famous get everything right. “Punching In A Dream” offers vocals from Alisa Xayalith and heavy-handed synth leads that sound so trashy, you can’t help but love it. In fact, though taste level is not their strong suit, on Passive Me, Agressive You, the greatest pleasures in the album come from the unabashed confidence of youth. Tracks like “Punching In A Dream” or the current can’t miss single “Young Blood” don’t care that what they have said and what they sound like has been done before. And, even, done better. Anthematic synth pop sounds good any day of the week, and when it is produced with the polish and care that The Naked and Famous do so, it is easiest to just turn it up loud and turn your cynicism off for a second.
Of course, 13 songs of this is a bit much. Especially, considering that the group lacks in both consistency of sound and consistency of quality. “Frayed,” “The Sun” and “A Wolf In Geek’s Clothing” (and titles like this is where I draw the line in my forgiving-them-because-they-are-young frame of mind) are all b-side material and muddy-up what could have been a very strong debut LP. For a band geared to appeal to high schoolers, they didn’t seem to put much thought into the attention spans of their targets. Why do we have to wait ten minutes in between ultra-jams “Spank” and “Girls Like You?” When dealing with young minds, though their exuberance can be praised, their poor decision making is a necessary repercussion.
But missteps considered, the reality is that The Naked And Famous are about to complete the jump to big everywhere. Kids yearning for something with more high points than MGMT and more muscle than Passion Pit will be delighted in this album. Their universal (read: nondescript) lyrics will be a godsend for tweens not yet ready to confront life’s real issues. But for the rest of us, Passive Me, Agressive You will be seen as the vehicle for a few new jams to join our iTunes shuffle, coupled with an equal amount of forgettable filler. It’s better than nothing, I suppose.
