There’s been a fair bit of hype surrounding Rookie of the Year – they were one of those bands I’d heard of, but not heard anything by – and so I was quite eager to give this a spin when it landed on the doormat. But the truth is this did not live up to expectations. Crossing the bridge between Copeland and The Juliana Theory, Rookie of the Year swim in a sea of generic music that has been peddled a hundred times before – and will be hundred times again – without really making too much of an impact. I mean ‘The Goodnight Moon’ is nice and all, but it realy lacks a certain something and as a result, hardly any of the 12 tracks here stand out.
On too many occasions this record just drifts along, while in those it just comes across as sappy and dull. ‘Silhouettes (All Eyes Above)’ was made for an emotional scene in The OC, but it’s just so devoid of actual emotion it suits the rather fake and plastic characters that adorn the TV screens (don’t get me wrong I like the programme, but it’s a bit fake innit?) I could go on and sound like I really dislike this record, but that would be unfair. It’s not that bad – the band are good musicians and the songs are competent – but it’s just a bit dull. There are better exponents of this kind of music out there and I’d recommend checking them out first.
www.rookieoftheyear.net
111 Records
paul