3.0 out of 5 stars
Not their best..., August 14, 2004
This review is from: No Music Here (Audio CD)
whopper (they insist on the lower case "W") first came onto the scene with their debut album, Let's Make Sounds. It was available only in Norway, and only through the band. The album was very solid. The boys had a pretty decent pop sensibility, a quirky lead singer with an obvious accent, and some mean guitars. Their first singles, Summerfling, and Lucky Day (Dig You A Way), were catchy as hell and worth the price of the album. Their second album, Takes and Mistakes, boasted the same, though this time with even MORE good singles. Obviously, whopper was living up to their claim to writing songs that will get on the radio!
When I heard their new album, No Music Here, was coming out this year I was pretty excited. Like their other two albums, I wasn't expecting a solid album, just some good singles and a couple of filler tunes. When I finally bought it for import prices and listened to it in my car (arguably the best place to hear new music), I was very let down. Instead of hearing singles with some filler, I heard ALL filler with no singles. Where was the catchiness, where was the pop sensibility? The tunes were far from bad, but they weren't anything you'd want to pop in for a friend, or throw on a mix disc. It was just okay.
I gave the album a dozen listens so far, and my opinion hasn't changed. I don't think it's a sleeper hit like Weezer's Pinkerton, or Phantom Planet's newest self-titled album. By sleeper hit, I mean the subjective phenomenon in which you don't like an album at first because its too complex, and then, later, you finally do and recognize how amazing it is. This won't happen to me with No Music Here. However, for people who want to get into a very good Norweigan indie band, whopper is still for you! Just import their Let's Make Sounds and Takes And Mistakes, or check out their sound bites at www.whopper.no.
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