|
 |
TrentwoodAutotunes Pact/MGM Phil Ceberano, writer, singer and guitarist for Trentwood certainly has similar commercial pop music sensibilities to his famous sister Kate. 'Autotunes' is an easy-listening pop album, full of happy tunes about girls and breaking up with them: a timeless commercial formula. Unfortunately, it's a formula Trentwood rely too heavily upon and Ceberano's clearly-voiced musings are at best trivial and at the worst insulting. Void of fire, passion, and seemingly even of care, the relationships presented throughout the album seem like a pointless discussion based upon a blend of cliches about love. The sentiment of Breaking Up Is A Drag is not one of poignant humour (in the ilk of Custard) but of casual indifference and Ceberano simply isn't a good enough lyricist to make it interesting. Perhaps I'm missing the point: the music is after all, straightforward and manageable pop rock, undeniably bouncy and happy. The guitar-based songs do have a fun beat that invities audience movement and this really is enjoyable background music. Unfortunately for Trentwood, 'Autotunes' is precisely that - pleasant background music. Deliberate listening offers nothing interesting or exciting, and the quirkiness of songs quickly becomes mundane. Even Wide Open Wide, a cruisey and mellow song that shifts right away from the happy-go-lucky style, is only really strong for the first verse and chorus before it becomes stale. I'm finding it difficult to work out whether 'Autotunes' is a clear case of underachievement, or whether Trentwood have made exactly what they wanted: a great background soundtrack for a lively pub.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine