*ALBUM REVIEW*
From Yahoo! LAUNCH - May 29th, 2003

According to the Ritalin-deprived kids in Times Square screaming their lungs raw every weekday on TRL, dance-pop, hip-pop, and punk-pop are hottest pop commodities these days. But if Rooney represent any particular under-21 demographic, it's clear that all the really cool kids are grooving to the pure powerpop of their parents' old ELO, Cheap Trick, Beatles, and Beach Boys LPs (or at least their elder siblings' Weezer, Superdrag, and Possum Dixon CDs). Like fellow L.A. bubblegum darlings Phantom Planet--whose drummer, Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman, is perhaps not coincidentally the big brother of 19-year-old Rooney frontman (and Virgin Suicides actor) Robert Carmine--or too-smart-for-their-own-good upstarts OK Go, Rooney have quite possibly lured a few impressionable young female fans away from the likes of Justin Timberlake with their shaggy, Strokes-y good looks and Rooneymania-esque all-ages gigs; their cameo in the lightweight teen flick The Princess Diaries, which also co-starred the pinup-pretty Carmine, no doubt only upped their adolescent appeal. But their self-titled debut is startlingly sophisticated stuff. For instance, the sunny surfside romp "Blueside," with its hooks 'n' harmonies and good vibrations aplenty, sounds like a mislaid outtake from Brian Wilson's aborted Smile album (had that record been commercial enough to actually be released, that is), while the finger-snapping "I'm Shakin'" and "Terrible Person" conjure up poptopian images of Elvis Costello's Attractions fronted by Ric Ocasek; it's undeniably impressive that impeccable tunes such as these, or even the swoony, doo-woppy ballad "If It Were Up To Me" and silly but irresistible throwaway "Daisy Duke," were penned by someone as young as Carmine, who is clearly blessed with much more talent than the Laverne & Shirley character who shares his name. Yep, this is a teen-friendly album that's so sharp, shiny, and strong, it's bound to find a devoted audience even among those old enough to actually recognize that previous sentence's pop-culture reference.

-Lyndsey Parker