Useless Entertainment: #30 The Format - Dog Problems

There seem to be two types of people when it comes to opinions on this album. On one hand there are the ones that call it “amazing” or “genius”. On the other hand are those that see it as a huge disappointment. I started out seeing this album as a disappointment. Their previous effort, “Interventions and Lullabies” was a great pop/rock album; it made you tap your foot and bob your head. “Dog Problems” doesn’t quite pull that off, at least the first few times through. This being said, I did not give up on the album. I thought that maybe if I listened enough that I would turn into one of the many calling it “genius”. I found that the first problem that I was having with the album was that I wasn’t a huge fan of the first 2 tracks. They were slow and seemed to drag on, which inevitably led to a decision to give up on the album before it really started. I started skipping to the third track “Time Bomb” to start the album off. This did the trick (I eventually started liking the first 2 tracks as well). The track starts with a Queen-esque high pitched harmony and then jumps around from horn sections to string sections to a chorus that reminds me of “Interventions and Lullabies”. The rest of the album keeps pace and delivers catchy songs with some interesting arrangements. Although I still have not reached the point of calling the album “amazing” or “genius”, I will say that it is a solid effort of catchy pop songs from a band that seems to have a bright future ahead of them.

Highlights:
Time Bomb
Dog Problems
The Compromise

Favorite Lyrics:

“can you hear me?
are you listening?
this is the sound of my heart breaking.
and i hope it's entertaining,
'cause for me it's a bitch.
was it worth it?
when you slept with him?
did you get it all out of your system?”

“open arms are prison cells”

# posted by Steve @ 11:16 PM