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Artist: Farrah
Label: Ark 21 Category: Music Average customer rating: Media: Audio CD Number Of Discs: 1 UPC: 618681008026 EAN: 0618681008026 ASIN: B000068FTB Release Date: 2002-06-11 |
Moustache
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The second track on Farrah's debut album is a frisky little number called "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." The song is an infectious Ramones-by-way-of-'60s-girl-group shout-out, and you feel that you may finally have a band unafraid to be catchy. But "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is a cover of a song by the Rubinoos, one of the groups signed to the Beserkley label that defined American power pop in the late '70s, and the rest of <I>Moustache</I> never quite reaches this giddy height again. England's Farrah plays straightforward, clean-cut music that's a bit like a boy version of the Donnas--if that band had grown up listening to Cheap Trick instead of Mötley Crüe. There are plenty of tantalizing pop moments ("Living for the Weekend" starts off a bit like a La's outtake), but too often the group's energy is undermined by dull lyrics. Still, a track like "Lois Lane," a power ballad on which Farrah boldly steps into Matchbox Twenty territory, shows that the group may have a future on American radio. <I>--Elisabeth Vincentelli</I>Customer Reviews:
Y'all, it really is worth pond hopping sometimes.......2002-09-10
Nevertheless, these chaps are certainly bright and trendy. I get the impression that this band is, only now, just beginning to spread their wings; and if their flight is any more awe-inspiring than their takeoff, you should just be still and look up: watch and listen. I can promise you'll enjoy a spectacular fanfare and display; and if you'll only give Moustache a chance. I know it'll grow on you. I think what has amazed me most about these guys, is their ability to punch out solid and hard hitting riffs song after song. From the love-challenged lyrics, the steamroller percussion, some white noise heavy grind, to the centrifugal guitar solos, you can tell that Farrah appreciates the full range of musical pop-rock styles, multi-part harmonies, and some non-classic retards. (No and don't be a retard. I mean: rhythmic effects of tempo.) There are the moody, love-challenged songs that have me hooked; like `Tired of Apologising' with those U.K. horns sounding out from our isle-cousins, `Lois Lane', and `Don't Let Them Get You Down'. Not to mention the tunes that aggressively levitated me straight up out of my seat. `Seventies Superstar' rocks with a slammin' new-century-retro appeal. (I definitely want to hear this one at the concert.) The Beatles-vision, too short `Only Happy When She's Sad' or Lennonisque `Good Night God Bless'. Which, by the way is a fabulous ado to end a well-strewn Peppers theme. You'll be blessed with a matrix of awesome drum licks, acoustics, glamour rock, dangling pianos, and an occasional blues'y almost hip hop feel. With all of this plus those serious eighties genre cuts like `Talk about Nothing' and the terrific stanza to stanza transitions offered in `Life's Too Short' prove this album is well suited for the bipolar disorder in all of us.
Therefore, I will simply state to my fellow neighbors, `Y'all, it really is worth pond hopping sometimes'. I give Farrah a perfect `10'.
Ken king's Review (Junkmedia).......2002-06-13
Rubinoos "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is the CD's token cover, and it gives a pretty good sense of the state of affairs that Farrah bring to the table. Frankly, for my taste, Farrah do a better job with it than do the Rubinoos. The advent of the post-punks helped to toughen the Farrah version of the song a bit, which removes a bit of the saccharine self-consciousness present in the original.
Their connection with power-pop movements of the 1970s is underscored lyrically as well as musically. "Seventies Superstar" could be read as an unironic description of a day in the life of Keith Partridge. At the other end of the musical and emotional spectrum is the skeletal "Only Happy When She's Sad," a brief and understated reflection on the pain of a dysfunctional relationship, written from an empathetic male perspective.
This is an ideal album for you if: you've worn out your copy of Raspberries' Best; you like to sing in the car; you like your music to have a certain seasonal resonance; the guitar, bass, drums format, to your thinking, is best used when playing aggressive, yet melodic, pop music.
Reviewing this CD is something like reviewing a bowl of chocolate pudding. It's pretty much the same from start to finish, it's really good, and even it you love it, you won't want to make your diet of this alone. Buy and enjoy, but in power-pop moderation.
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