*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
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