Something Corporate - Leaving Through The Window Review
Posted by Vanderhorst on 09.24.2002
This disc came Jay Bower recommended.
Yet Another Good Band I Missed at Edgefest: The disc opens with "I Want to Save You." Piano starts off this tune at a brisk clip, never a good sign for a pop-punk album. However, the song quickly rectifies it with lyrics that we can all empathize with, the girl that doesn't realize how beautiful she is. That always gets me, personally. I think a musical instrument called a hammond is used to make a violinesque sound in the background. 1 for 1.
The follow-up track is "Punk Rock Princess," a fairly basic love song with some interesting vocal work. Pop-punk by the numbers, but a very energetic song that works fairly well. 2 for 2.
My personal favorite for the album pops on after this, "I Woke Up in a Car." I'm not entirely sure what the song means to me, but I really do connect to it. It's just a good tune, I'm not experienced enough with music reviewing to really know what to say here. 3 for 3.
The second single from the album, "If You C Jordan," creaks on next. And it's funny that it's the second single, because it's the WORST SONG ON THE ALBUM YET. Redundant, remedial loops and whiny lyrics about a jerk that really goes nowhere. It's like a kiddie version of "Through Being Cool" by Saves the Day. 3 for 4.
"The Astronaut" is a drug dealer, and the band is asking him for a fix in this fairly obvious ode to marijuana. Good for what it is, though. 4 for 5.
"Hurricane" is a decent song, but nothing about it really sticks out. It's non-offensive filler, nothing to write home about though. 5 for 6.
Jay Bower's favorite song off the album is "Cavanaugh Park," which is certainly the most emotional song on the album. I could see it being the favorite from the songwriters' perspective. It's definitely good, just not my favorite track. 6 for 7.
"Fall" is about the raw sexual power of being in love for the first time... well, I'm fairly sure of it. Decent song, nothing amazing here. 6 for 8.
I don't get the title of "Straw Dog," I think that must be a local reference. It's a good strong tune with a distinctive guitar line that leads into the chorus beautifully. Another solid, good track. 7 for 9.
I think "Good News" is the third most annoying song on this disc, so in all likelihood the dunderheaded management will likely pick this to be the third single. Record execs can be morons, this song is repetitive and just not interesting at all. 7 for 10.
This tour de force of tripe is followed up by "Drunk Girl," the first single and worst song on the album. It's flat-out terrible and not even funny at all. This band has talent, they just need to get their priorities straight. Ungood. 7 for 11.
"Not What It Seems" is just what you think it might be, a slow power chord-type pop-punk filler song. This CD is taking a major turn south... 7 for 12.
"You're Gone" is a good tune with a solid message, but it never really escapes the crappiness of the last three songs. Gotta feel sorry for it though. 7 for 13.
Thankfully, "Globes & Maps" ends the album on a high note, albeit a kind of whiny high note. 8 for 14.
Bonuses: Unfortunately, there are no extra tracks, although with 14 listed it's not a big disappointment. There's no multimedia section for your computer, either.
The 411: While Something Corporate has something in the way of talent, corporate hacks eager to capitalize on the growing popularity of pop-punk have made them pepper their debut album with some shitty drivel.
