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Rooney's strength has always been their ability as a band to blend modern rock sounds with the older, more established sounds of the 60s and 70s. They continue this trend on Eureka, and yet there's something missing here. That thing is 'heart.' I'd be lying if I said that Rooney's music never seemed a bit plastic, but here they seem to just be going through the motions. The catchy, pop-rock is still there, but Robert Schwartzman's once-infectious, passionate vocal exclamations are long gone; replaced with vocals that sound good, sure, but far from notable. Even his lyrical talent seems to be waning.
"Stars and Stripes" is the song on Eureka that best captures this criticism. On the surface, it's a poppy song with tight instrumentation and decent vocals. But Shwartzman's lyrics come off as a poor-man's version of "Lean on Me." He sings, "It's gonna take the world to change. It's time to start helping each other. There's nobody left to take the blame. We're all gonna have to take it together." Yeah, yeah, we get it; but sing it with some conviction, and maybe we'll latch on to that idea. Even the harmonies on this song are completely uninspiring! "Not in My House" is a pretty poor effort as well, sounding somewhere in between "War Pigs," "Icky Thump" and Fountains of Wayne. Actually, the Fountains of Wayne comparison might not be so far off album-wise; which, by the way, is bad.
Ok, so I'm clearly not the biggest fan of Eureka, but my critique is not without a few concessions. For starters, it's good to hear modern rock that doesn't pander to the bottom feeders of society. Even when they come off as a less-authentic version of themselves, Rooney can be a lot of fun to listen to, or to put on at the start of a long drive. Songs like "Don't Look at Me" or "I Can't Get Enough" seem to capture some of the magic that the band has seemingly lost over the years, which is both refreshing and encouraging. But these are bright spots on an otherwise un-notable album. While the band still has the talent and sound to be occasionally entertaining, they've created a lackluster record that doesn't really give me a reason to play it over any of their older stuff. Speaking of which, it's pretty hot outside. I may want to go throw some on!
Key Tracks:
1. "I Can't Get Enough"
2. "Only Friend"
3. "Into the Blue"
4. "Don't Look at Me"
5 out of 10 Stars
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, I called the song "the one low point on an otherwise flawless album." And then I forgot about Uffie. Fast-forward to 2009 when I hear 
's "TiK ToK" and initially mistake it for Uffie. My interest was piqued and as I started listening to Uffie's small catalog of songs, something strange happened: I actually started to like some of it. So what we have here is one of my most bizarrely anticipated albums of 2010, and one that has been delayed for years and years. (Hell, "Pop the Glock" was originally released in 2006!) The result of all that waiting is 
, an album that is certainly a letdown, but is not without its fair share of hits.
) adds his vocals to the song to great effect. His rap verse is one of the coolest aspects of the song and his voice fits surprisingly well with Uffie's auto-tuned half-rapping. 
wound up becoming a better album as time went on, most people still viewed it as a disappointment in comparison to the near-flawless 
. Those same people should be pleased then with the latest from A.C. Newman's group of power-poppers, 
. Eschewing Challenger's eccentricities for the more mainstream and catchy aspects of Twin Cinema, Together is more of a return to form than a reinvention. Songs like "Crash Years" and "Your Hands (Together)" come crashing down on the listener like a giant reminder of what made The New Pornographers such an endearing act to begin with. They parallel classics like "Sing Me Spanish Techno" or "Electric Version" flawlessly, and inspire such a 
