Review: 3Oh!3 – Streets Of Gold
To their credit, 3Oh!3 have to know they are, at best, a novelty. There’s no way one would consciously choose to do what they do for more than an album, let alone on their second, Streets of Gold. They’re a band that is obsessed with partying, yet most of hair metal had a way with a riff. But these guys, armed with little but hooks and some call-and-response choruses, have scored a following and radio play. Amazing.
How else to explain “Touchin on My,” a song where the swears are censored by electronic beeps and bloops because, haha, swears are naughty. Yet, they follow it with the expletive-laced “House Party” (“Fuck the DJs! Fuck the DJs! Fuck the DJs!/Unless they’re playing my shit!”). They know it’s all dumb, dumb, DUMB fun, and they’re probably pretty satisfied with life for it.
Lyrically, they rely on sing-song raps that don’t seem to understand there is more to rapping than just stringing together rhymes. The keyboard flourishes don’t add anything; they’re like random blips and bleeps that fill up the space when the vocal department takes a breath. The music is mixed such that every part of the band is a mushy approximation of loudness, yet it doesn’t matter a lick because there’s not much going on under the surface.
So, it’s strange to say that their biggest strength is that they’ve got some good hooks delivered with literally no imagination. Ke$ha is a natural fit to collaborate with 3Oh!3, as their single together, “My First Kiss,” delivers what sounds like sexy to an audience young enough to have told friends about their first kiss via Twitter. It’s foamy, frothy, silly fun, and that’s ultimately all 3Oh!3 wants to do. With standards like that, it’s difficult to disappoint, really.
Things stay jumpy and full of bold and underline sounds, flashy and shallow. It’s the one mood that carries throughout the album. The lone ballad, “I’m Not the One,” is like a kid lost along the sunset strip. One begs to scream, “The neon lights aren’t good for you! Who brought you here, and why did they abandon you?” This band is not full of convincing balladeers.
Unfortunately, aside from wearing guitars, everything here is done better by Black Eyed Peas. See: 3Oh!3′s would-be youth anthem “We Are Young” versus Black Eyed Peas’ “Generation Now,” which at least takes the pains to name their generation. BEP are not quite as lyrically crass, but they’re still primarily concerned with the fun of the thing. And will.i.am is a better producer than 3Oh!3 are a rock band. So, I end on an honest question: does will.i.am just not produce enough music at a time to fill up today’s house parties? Who, exactly is 3Oh!3 pitched to?
3Oh!3:
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Jere is not from Chicago. Nor is he from Parts Unknown. But he sure loves to hear things. Follow him on Twitter!Email this Author | All posts by Jere
