When this album came out about a year ago, I was disappointed. My reaction was that it was fine, but not the next coming of rock like many music writers were trying to make it out to be. The young band (aged 20-21) has a lot of spunk and a certainly potential, but Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not shouldn't be mistaken for anything other than a solid debut, not a masterpiece.
The best thing to come from the band so far was summer single "Leave Before the Lights Come On." I found the song to be more melodic and musically complex than most of the Whatever People Say... songs, which I why I liked it best. If this is a signal of where they're headed, I await their sophomore album with anticipation.
Back to the album though, it starts out strong enough. "The View from the Afternoon" is pretty good; I like the guitar work. Just when you think it's over, it starts up again, which manages to make this one of the longest songs on the album (most clock in well under 3 minutes). "I Bet that You Look Good on the Dancefloor" has a lot of raw energy and good dueling guitar. "Fake Tales of San Francisco" is good. I like the bass line.
Following those great opening numbers are six songs so short that they're over before they can even really establish their intentions. Fast "Dancing Shoes" is a lot of loud guitar bursts with a good middle section, but hardly any verses, as it lasts only 2:20. The shortest song at 2:10 has the longest title: "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight At Me," but not much else going for it. It's the least interesting track so far. "Still Take You Home" is pretty good, again, it has a great middle section, a mellow contrast to the raucous verses.
"Riot Van" is the first slow song, and it's a welcome change from the last three songs, but it's so short that it just doesn't amount to much of a song. I liked the sound, and I expected the song to go somewhere interesting, but then it just ends. "Mardy Bum" reminds me something Franz Ferdinand would do (Franz, along with the Strokes being obvious influences here), but doesn't really distinguish itself from the fray, other than being mid-tempo as opposed to hyped up.
"When the Sun Goes Down" is a late album gem. This was their second single, and second #1 hit, and it's probably my favorite song on the album. It starts off setting up the story of a prostitute being chased by a "scumbag," sung over a simple, mellow guitar arrangement. Then the song takes off as the electric guitars and drums kick in.
"From the Ritz to the Rubble" is about waiting in line for a nightclub, but being rejected by the bouncer. Clubbing and partying is perhaps the primary occupation of the band, not surprising given their ages, but given that no less than eight of the album's songs appear to be set in and around the club scene, it does get a bit tiresome. Don't these boys want to sing maudlin love songs? Maybe when they're older. They actually address this on closing track "A Certain Romance," stating "There's no romance around here."
Some of the songs are quite good, but too many of them fail to distinguish themselves from the pack, and several promising ones are too short, ending just when I expect them to take off and do something interesting. Still, it's not bad, and I do hope the band will do something more interesting for their second act.
Best tracks: The View from the Afternoon, I Bet that You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Fake Tales of San Francisco, When the Sun Goes Down
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