Not t.A.T.u.I've emailed a few people about this damn
Veronicas album, and I really can't make heads or tails of it at this point. I was fairly well impressed with the full album initially, but repeat listens are frustrating...first and foremost, several of the ballads are plain AWFUL (like the "More Than Words"/Mr. Big/snooze knock-off, although I like the
Little Emo Orchestra's touches on the two (?) tracks where they're featured, especially the pre-chorus "Mouth Shut"...cute name, too!). But beyond that, I find myself somewhat put off by what I've described as a compelling straddling of two worlds: confessional singer/songwriter/diarist mode and anonymous bubblegum ensemble mode.
I suppose these two ideas aren't mutually exclusive, but in practice they make my head spin...Aly and AJ wade in similar waters, except the individual personas are a bit more defined through pre-existing television image (we have to assume, of course, that many kids who purchase
Into the Rush are at least aware of "Phil of the Future" or whatever, I mean there was a show insert in the album), and the self-expression is frequently ambiguous. Though Aly (or AJ) expresses solidarity with kidnapped children in "I Am One of Them," the song comes across as a (problematic) cautionary tale more than a vehicle for personal reflection. "I" could get kidnapped as easily as "you" could, says Aly (or AJ). WATCH OUT!
The Veronicas are far more risque, bordering on self-parody. They want to "spend the night with you." They always "thought you were gay." They're feeling "hungover" because they "drank too much." Heck, they even tried tobacco, maybe (don't tell Mom!). And yet a few tracks are very heartfelt, particularly the DioGuardi (co-)penned "Nobody Wins" -- which for the record is the only thing on the album that even approaches genuine, tongue-outta-cheek pathos, a la Ashlee (also DioGuardi's influence...PS, is
Kara DioGuardi's Myspace fake? Kinda seems that way, but I really hope it isn't...).
Essentially my problem overall is an inconsistent tone, which is frustrating because MUSICALLY the album isn't particularly inconsistent (except, again, those ballads!! Let Kara take care of all of them, sign her up with Little Emo Strings!). My qualms seem to lie with the consistency of image, which is strange because the Veronicas are (half-) explicitly "manufactured," including the Archies-derived moniker. The consciously manufactured angle
should make a problematic artist/performer image a nonissue (in the vein of Bratz as an example), but there's just enough songwriting "authenticity" (whatever that is...maybe I'm just describing a tendency to cling to the image-based non-musical standards?) to de-manufacture the twins. But come on, their fans can't even pronounce their last name! (The pronunciation of Origliasso depends, apparently, on whether or not the name is Italian or a derivation of Italian -- or something...I dunno, they talk about it
here. Bleah, don't care for the board, either!)
And yet (and yet) in some of the novelty-inclined songs I've found some pathos, and in some of the ballads I've found bubblegum (like the one about poor schlub #3 (or #4-7) liking her (their) hair in a mess, as if they didn't spend an hour to get it looking like that! Total cheese-ball). Prime example is "Secret," which I took at first as misguided sarcasm bordering on homophobia. Listening more carefully, I've decided that this is actually the story of an obsessed male friend/fan who
posed as a gay man to win trust so that he could then learn all of Veronica (and Veronica)'s secrets, including that age-old stumper, "what do the Veronicas look like without any clothes on?" (OK, this still ventures into some weird content issues...why is it perfectly OK for a gay man to watch Veronica and Veronica take their clothes off, as if he's not even in the room, but not a straight male confidant with no romantic interest? Even given the guy was lying, which is disturbing, the repeated emphasis on the fact Veronica(s) "always thought [he] was gay" seems misplaced). Anyway, bottom line: obsessive dude lied, Veronica(s) shared her (their) "secret"(s) on the basis of this lie, now she/they is/are mortified. This is a pretty disconcerting premise for such an upbeat song.
The bridging of two seemingly irreconcilible modes of pop writing (confessional performer persona vs. anonymous...again, maybe these
aren't in total conflict, they just seem to be) is causing some majorly conflicted reactions to the album as a whole. For now I'll chicken out of a broader argument and say that the album is inconsistent and loses steam after song 5-6 or so, making it a
close cigar with very little chance of having lasting impact over time. (I would still like to see them live, though.)
I'm interested in seeing how this album does commercially. Already the Veronicas have a bigger fanbase than, say, oh, I dunno, SKYE, who is as unified (aesthetically and in terms of persona) a teen pop artist as I've come across...which actually suggests to me that the Veronicas may be flash of the pan popular. There is about zero chance of kid crossover given the (slightly) mature (or maybe adolescent? Sophomoric? Dirty?) content, and maybe 50% chance of chart success...the similarities of "Everything I'm Not" (first US single) to "Since U Been Gone" won't help it in the Kelly Clarkson-exhausted Billboard charts, which means that by the time "4Ever" (first UK single) is released as a single stateside (this was a strange marketing decision...what's wrong with releasing the same single in the UK and the US simultaneously?) the Veronicas may be all but out for the count. Unlike, say, Ashlee, their performer image is too tenuous to guarantee them lasting success. Which teaches us, finally, that major public embarrassments sting like a bitch, but in 2006, may well foster a lasting and productive career. Work with that trauma, girlfriend, you still got my L.O.V.E.!
The Veronicas - SecretAshlee Simpson - L.O.V.E. (Missy Elliott remix) (courtesy
Rich Girls Are Weeping and
Hype Machine)
