The Blacklist Royals

I wanna do this right, so forgive my tardiness.

In the meantime:

If you believe the hype, Free Energy is the band that will bring power pop back into the mainstream consciousness.  The world could benefit from a dose of jangly guitars and killer harmonies, but I don’t think Free Energy is the band to do it.  Stuck on Nothing is a solid album with some good songs, but it lacks a spark.

Power pop is all about formula.  Take a group of awkward guys (but not too awkward), play some heavy riffs (but not too heavy), throw in some huge choruses and have them pine for girls.  When this formula is done correctly it is irresistible.  Free Energy has gotten a lot of it right.  The title track is practically a power pop instruction manual.  The drumbeats are simple and made for clapping.  The guitars have just the right amount of crunch, and the arpeggio is accomplished but doesn’t interfere with the melody.   The music is perfect, the vocals are not.

Vocals are the most important part of power pop.  The role of the a power pop frontman is not to play ringmaster, but to convey the hopes, dreams, fears and longing of his audience.  The dudes who go to power pop shows don’t have much luck with the opposite sex.  They need an avatar. The great power pop frontmen (Robin Zander, Eric Carmen, Rick Ocasek, Butch Walker) are able to convey this uneasiness with just enough confidence to win the girl at the end.  After listening to Scott Wells, you get the impression that he doesn’t have self-esteem issues.

Paul Sprangers is a cool guy.  He sings each lyric with the kind of boredom that only cool dudes have.  He sounds a bit like Julian Casablancas, a patron saint of hipsterdom.  Power pop is about nerds being neurotic.  Look at the classic tunes: “I Wanna Be With You,” “Is She Really Going Out With Him,” “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.”   The cloying vocals are what make the sound so huge.  “Bang, Pop” has the potential to be a modern classic, but Wells laconically sings the chorus.

Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal taste. Sprangers is a good singer, and the band is great.  “Dark Trance” sounds like it came from 1977.    The guitars chug along before building to a solo that sounds like it came out of Tom Scholtz’s basement.

Every genre needs to be shaken up now and then.  But power pop is something that I really only want one way.  Am I overanalyzing and overthinking? Yes, but that’s what exactly what attracted me to the genre in the first place.  Even though it’s not traditional enough for me, it’s still worth a couple spins.  There always extra room for a catchy chorus.