album of the week: 11.2

Fake Problems

Real Ghosts Caught on Tape

sideonedummy (2010)

why you'll love it: another new side of a talented band

why you'll hate it: way softer than the last album, bad intro/outro songs

It's Great To Be Alive was my favorite album of 2009. It was a whirlwind of Swami Records style rockabilly punk with a dose of southern Baptist mumbo-jumbo. Good edgy fun. If Real Ghosts Caught on Tape proves anything, being an east coast junior Rocket From The Crypt is has never been this band's intention. Just as last year's album shed away the sophomoric cow-punk of How Far Our Bodies Go (2007), Real Ghosts trades in the high energy and grit for a fresh coat of Americana pop.

This year's softer and warmer Fake Problems are sure to repel older fans, but I've found the change of pace to be refreshing. Few bands shake things up with every album. They seem to nail every genre they take on, with only a few stumbles. The songs of Real Ghosts Caught on Tape are good clean fun, and like the past two albums, sometimes lean over the edge of "gimmicky". "Soulless" starts off making you think you're listening to something like The Foundations. It's a sugary album for sure, but an honest and well made one.

Although it isn't a lack of rock that weakens this album, it's a few instances of corny songwriting. Chris Farren is in some ways still stuck in a high school mentality. His melodrama in the past two albums seemed to complement the genres well; but "ADT" comes off as a by the numbers young hopeless romantic pop song. Worst of all, it's the very first track. Fitting that the only other bad track "Ghost To Coast" is the closer. It's a needless ballad, especially after the perfect closer, "Grand Finale". Everything else in the middle makes for a great album, but I can imagine a lot of people switching off after a fatiguing bad start; or coming away with a bad taste in their mouth with a shrug of an ending.

Real Ghosts has just as much heart as other Fake Problems albums. It just comes down to how much you can get into the genre. Although this album is nowhere as resonant to me as It's Great To Be Alive was, it makes me respect them all the more for being such a versatile act.