Flipp
Volume
Popularity / Artemis
Third album from Minneapolis’ over-the-top power-pop giants Flipp. Too Spinal Tap for words, Flipp come across like Cheap Trick making out with Tenacious D, throwing out every hard rock trick in the book and winding up with something that’s improbably listenable. Like Kid Rock, really, only arguably more talented. Everclear’s Art Alexakis signed them to his new label for this album and, with all due respect to Everclear, that’s not entirely inappropriate from a musical standpoint, what with the basking in ’70s hard rock and Billy Idol’s cartoon-punk posing.
On songs like “Clone Me” and “Zoom” they come across with the swaggering strut of Oasis, while first single “Freak” imitates Cheap Trick’s high-school feel-good anthems. Loads of guitar solos in the Joe Perry / Ace Frehley vein, obviously, and great, dumb sing-alongs popping up all over the place. Several Ramones-styled punk epics for the kids, none of them to be taken seriously at all, and a songs that seem to rub shoulders with early-day, fighting-for-their-rights Beastie Boys. Obviously, it’s all a bit of a joke and a laugh, and the novelty is sure to wear off pretty quickly. Until then, however, it’s worryingly hard to not shamefully admit to being entertained by their hard rock 101.
Artemis Records: http://www.artemisrecords.com
