I previously wrote about my affinity for British Radio and one of my new favorite songs, Elvis Ain't Dead by Scouting for Girls. I really like that song. I also like the other two singles that they play on Virgin. So much, in fact, that I went out and got their debut, self-titled album, Scouting for Girls. And since it's not out in the States yet, I had to import it. It's like $35 to import a CD from the UK.
I'll be honest, here. I probably should have just gotten the single (http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Aint-Dead-Scouting-Girls/dp/B000WTND8U/). It's not that it's a bad album. It's just a bit boring after a while.
Don't get me wrong, though. I still love that song, and I think these guys are great musicians. For a three piece piece that focuses on the piano and percussion, they're not too bad. The album's got a lot of guitars and other instruments mixed in there, but it's mostly the drums, piano, and vocals that stick out. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. It's put together really well.
I really dig the poppy, bouncy sound that they've got. I'm subconsciously forced to pop my head to it. Combined with the simplistic, repetitive vocals, it's really easy to get one of these songs stuck in your head.
Unfortunately, I dislike it for the same reasons I like it. While it's fun to hum and sing along to, there's really very little variety. Plenty of hooks, but little substance. For what they are, the songs are way too long. It's like they just keep dragging out. You hear everything they've got in the first half and it just repeats two or three times afterwards. If the songs were cut down to around 2 minutes, it'd be great, but 3.5 minutes is just too much for me. I guess that comes from being spoiled to short fast punk songs, and noisy AWK epics.
But as I've said, they're really great musicians. It's a personal preference thing. They're really big in the UK. For the past couple of weeks, the album's been at number 1. If it were five or six years ago, I could see these guys easily topping the US pop charts. Unfortunately, these days, most music buying Americans have bad taste. But what can I do, really? Other than write this blog and tell all my friends... Not much.
So. Summary. Scouting For Girls is a really great band and their single Elvis Ain't Dead is currently one of my favorite songs ever. Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, their debut album lacks variety and drags on. Not the best, but definitely not the worst. The album's not for me, but I highly recommend looking these guys up and judging for yourself. Or at least wait (and hope) for it to get released in the States.
Until next time,
~Ben
Resources:
My previous Scouting For Girls Post: (http://poonheads.blogspot.com/2007/11/scouting-for-girls-elvis-aint-dead.html)
Scouting For Girls by Scouting For Girls on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/Scouting-Girls/dp/B000UDQRKO/)
Elvis Ain't Dead single on Amazon: (http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Aint-Dead-Scouting-Girls/dp/B000WTND8U/)
Scouting For Girls on Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_for_Girls)
I Love Music will be a regular feature of Poonheads Wisdom regarding a general love for music.