Joydrop
Viberate
Tommy Boy
Following up on the mild success of their Metasexual record, Canada’s Joydrop gets a little less saucy and a bit more aggressive on this LP. Songs like “American Dreamgirl” weaves satirical, pseudo-feminist narration with a driving melody not unlike ones heard on modern rock stations these days. Think Fuel or some other generic “hard rock” band, only with a sultry female voice, and that pretty much brings you up to speed on Joydrop’s sound.
Yes, vocalist Tara Slone and the occasional programmed loop bring a bit more complexity and sincerity to the table, but that’s about all it does. Viberate’s entire sound seems to be inspired from old Curve records, and the effect isn’t subtle, either. It’s listenable once or twice, but after that, I’d much rather listen to Curve and hand this CD over to the eager, annoying radio DJs in my hometown. So maybe I am helping out Joydrop after all.
Tommy Boy Music, 902 Broadway, New York, NY 10010; http://www.tommyboy.com, http://www.joydrop.com
