Orson like to think of themselves as the people’s band of 2006. Their first single, the ridiculously catchy ‘No Tomorrow’, was the most downloaded Single of the Week in the history of iTunes.
In fact fans of the chart hit are so eager to hear the band’s debut album that promo copies are regularly exchanging hands on eBay for anything up to £60.
Given their obvious market potential, it comes as something of a surprise then that the five piece Californian band failed to land a record deal in their motherland.
They came to the UK as the last roll of the dice, having sparked British interest via material posted on MySpace.
Do the Americans know something we don’t?
They say:
PlayLouder: “Orson are so bereft of anything redeemable they could make a pig farmer weep.”
CD Times: “The punchy, quirky and undeniably commercial songs on Bright Idea more than live up to the hype.”
Time Out: “If you’re looking for depth, imagination and art, you’d do well to avoid this.”
We say:
Bright Idea is essentially a diary of thirty something singer Jason Pebworth’s tedious love life put to a soundtrack of faux ‘80s soul, soft FM rock and slick R&B. Think Maroon 5 but even more annoying, if you can summon such a terrifying thought.
Admittedly, performed live the songs do have a certain charm to them, brimming with self confidence and guilty pleasure vitality. But this has been lost in the transition from stage to studio.
Noah Shain’s production is overbearing, while Orson play it far too safe, afraid of experimenting with the studio environment at the risk of losing potential consumers.
As a result, the vim and vigour which made ‘Tryin’ to Help’ such a live favourite is all but lost and the sunny swagger of ‘Happiness’ feels more like a torrential downpour.
All in all, Orson are so caught up in pleasing the masses that the final product is hollow and vapid. They’re like a stray dog that just wants to be loved.
Of course, the weak minded will happily take them in with open arms, persuaded by an enormous marketing campaign and heavy rotation on Radio 1.
So expect Orson to be polluting our airwaves for quite some time, or at least until the next Maroon 5-lite band crosses the Atlantic.
Like this? Try these:
Maroon 5 – Songs about Jane
Good Charlotte – The Young and the Hopeless
Huey Lewis & the News – Sports
RELEASED
Mon 29th May
LABEL
Mercury Records
POSTED...
Fri 26 May 2006 at 5:10pm
