In the show “Keys to the VIP”, a panel of four “pickup experts†sits back and watches as two guys are sent into a club and given seduction challenges. They might have to just get a sexy picture with a girl or they might need to get a phone number; stuff like that. If you haven’t seen it, it’s because it’s a Canadian show that plays on the Comedy Network (Canadian version of Comedy Central [Ed. note: similar to the US' "The Pick Up Artist"]). The beauty of watching the show is that every contestant who knows what he’s doing has a clearly defined style – or, dare I say, art – of seduction. Some of them are smooth and sexy, some are brash and aggressive, others are sweet and charming – whatever they know their strengths are, they play to them. As one of the members of the panel, Alen, writes about seduction on the Comedy Network website, “Your job is to capture a word in your target’s mind. For example … does she think you’re funny, mysterious, outrageous or sweet?†
In music, the best bands have the same effect on listeners. For example: The Beatles = poppy, happy, colorful; The Rolling Stones = bluesy, exciting, sexy; The Velvet Underground = arty, druggy, cool; and such. On King of Rosa, The Dead Trees deliver song after song of sturdy, hooky songwriting, but the band never settles on one solid identity and the listener is never given that word to hold on to. No, that doesn’t make The Dead Trees so good that they defy classification, in this case it means that their art needs finesse.
The first two tracks, “OK Standby†and the single-worthy “Shelter†are both based on a great repetitive bluesy riff. This presents the band as post-garage-rock-revivalists (don’t ignore the “post†bit, nothing here sounds like the Von Bondies or anything of that ilk) until the Elliott Smith-esque piano waltz “My Friend, Laura, She Never Asks†dismisses that notion. It’s a great song, but it destroys any unified feel the album could have had by just being too different from the tracks preceding it. The same could be said about every track that follows it. There’s nothing wrong with being eclectic, but when no clear voice emerges, what you have isn’t eclecticism but an identity crisis.
Even with the lack of an identity, the quality of the writing is still impressive. “Killer in Me†makes the band sound like an American version of British Sea Power while the moody “I Here, I Want†could pass for classic Pavement (albeit much cleaner) right before the neo-British-invasion-style “Loretta†shreds shit up. The band even tries the quieter, acoustic-er approach on “Let Me Sleep†and “New England Skiesâ€. There’s no point on the album where they do not succeed at the style they’re attempting.
While the best bands and albums manage to fuse various influences into a congruent and definitive style, on their debut album, The Dead Trees play musical dress up, imitating different heroes on every song. While the performance is convincing and more than enjoyable, The Dead Trees need to grow a personality before anyone is going to take notice of them.
King of Rosa is available now from Milan Records.
Tracklisting:
01. OK Standby
02. Shelter
03. My Friend, Joan, She Never Asks
04. Killer In Me
05. Instrumental
06. I Have, I Want
07. Loretta
08. Let Me Sleep
09. Twin Cities
10. New England Skies
The Dead Trees: website | myspace
Written By Marc Z. Grub
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