By JAMES RAINIS
Courtesy of Mercury Records
Two years ago, when Slope Day brought not only the mediocre Taio Cruz but a slew of frat tanks that openly criticized the mere thought of his appearance (my personal favorite: “Drink until Taio Cruz is good”), I was far more intrigued by the selection of Neon Trees as an opener. The Utah-based quartet were riding high off of their biggest single to date “Everybody Talks,” an irresistible little slice of post-Strokes guitar-pop filtered through Katy Perry’s bubblegum aesthetic. Perhaps this is cynical of me — okay, it’s definitely cynical of me — but Neon Trees were, to me, some major label executive’s brilliant vision of how a guitar group could be successful: They had Tyler Glenn, a sexy lead singer with a powerhouse voice, and an impeccable group style that fell somewhere between the angular haircut thing that Interpol had going in their heyday and Yo Gabba Gabba’s penchant for (duh) neon. I can’t say that my memory of their Slope set is impeccable, but I do remember thinking that these guys could maybe give The Killers a run for their money, especially since Glenn was a lot less self-serious and a lot more likable than Brandon “Are we human or are we dancer?” Flowers. Neon Trees’ only problem was that they hadn’t written an album side as perfect as Side A of Hot Fuss. Hell, I’m not even sure they had enough good songs between their first two albums to make an album side in the same league as Side A of Hot Fuss.
In the lead-up to Neon Trees’ third long-player, Pop Psychology, Rolling Stone profiled Glenn, who talked about growing up as a gay Mormon (“We’re not taught that ‘homos are going to hell’ on Sunday in church”) and missing the whole “post-punk new wave” revival thing while on a Mormon mission (“Bloc Party, The Killers, The Rapture — I was pissed. This is the sound I thought we would have.”). A lot of the songs on Pop Psychology supposedly deal with Glenn’s struggles with his sexuality, and given the name-checks to Morrissey and Michael Stipe, I was optimistic. After all, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace found new fire combating transgender issues on this year’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues; forgive me for being excited for a potential wave of popular musicians writing songs for kids struggling with their identities to latch onto.
Unfortunately for my fanciful expectations, Pop Psychology is not a reimagining of Your Arsenal with modern-rock sheen. It is, however, loaded with the self-affirming, status quo-challenging lyrics that Pink has built a career off of. This isn’t an insult: “I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)” has the potential to be the first radio kiss-off that marries LCD-style cowbells and staccato guitars with a gooey chorus that overflows with playful condescension, and “Love in the 21st Century” lends its lackluster sentiment a synth-by-numbers bounce that’ll soundtrack a cell-phone commercial in the next couple of months. Speaking of cell-phones: There’s a song called “Text Me in the Morning,” and though the lyrics are somewhat cringe-worthy — I’m still trying to figure out whether “When all the other boys want your sex / I just want your text” is stupid or brilliant — it’s got handclaps and plenty of room for Tyler Glenn’s pipes to steal the show.
Pop Psychology, by the way, is entirely Glenn’s show, but even the most begrudging listener will admit that the other Neon Trees understand this better than anyone. Save drummer Elaine Bradley’s charming vocal turn on “Unavoidable,” every track serves as an opportunity for Glenn to excavate his demons while the band provides just enough locomotion in the back for the songs to spark. Sometimes you wish the band would settle into the more eccentric grooves — “Living in Another World” is a couple more offbeat snare hits away from being a disco-rock hit and lead single “Sleeping With A Friend” is essentially pleasant wallpaper— but who can blame them? Glenn is as empathetic as ever here, spinning lines about “going through an awkward phase” and being “socially absurd” into realistically sappy concerns rather than saccharine filler.
There are some moments on Pop Psychology where you get the feeling that Neon Trees might launch to the next stratosphere (the opening guitar riff of “Teenager in Love”), but then they disappoint after falling victim to those predictable pop impulses that got them here in the first place (the chorus of “Teenager in Love”). There’s nothing here as shamelessly, top-down in the summertime awesome as “Everybody Talks.” While it makes Pop Psychology a balanced affair, I’d rather have Neon Trees go-for-broke, Hot Fuss-style, with one perfect album side. Still, I’m holding out hope: Neon Trees aren’t annoying because they’re so darn earnest. It’s hard to root against them, especially since they may very well be the last of the pop-rock breed; you just wish Pop Psychology gave you a better reason to root for them.
Pop Psychology, along with the rest of this week’s Test Spins, can be spun HERE: