Rooney

Editor's Review:

Not bad. Rooney’s debut perambulates out of the LA scene with cute, poppy hooks, bouncy, medium-fast tempos, eighth-note palm-muted rhythms, strong vocals and a calculated ‘70s denim chic look. Yet, for all of Rooney’s not bad-ness, it should be noted that they’re not great, either. While their music is in no way un-enjoyable, it suffers under the weight of its predecessors: this style of hard pop saw its pinnacle with Weezer’s blue album or Superdrag’s Regretfully Yours, and Rooney doesn’t quite match up. Their take on this sound finds the guitar tones steeped in gravel instead of fuzz, and employs a stronger presence of keyboards and further emphasis on harmonies (which at times, are a bit schmaltzy), and stand-outs like “Stay Away,” “That Girl Has Love” and the Wilson-esque “Blueside” are decent, if not mind-blowing. I’ve certainly heard worse.

– Maurice S. Teilmann

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Record Label Geffen Released June 2003

Tracks Stay Away If It Were Up To Me I'm A Terrible Person Popstars I'm Shakin' Daisy Duke Sorry Sorry That Girl Has Love Simply Because Losing All Control