Sometimes, with the amount of music we receive at TrendRobot, everything mashes into one ball of messy musical yarn.  Everything seems to follow the same cadence, the same hooks and bridges, the same song over and over and over again.  I loaded up Rogue Wave’s Permalight with an unfortunate, negative supposition before I even hit play.  I had read on a few other blogs how downright disappointing the album was at points and I thought I was in for a ride through mediocrity . . . why was I even listening to the album in the first place? At first, I was pleasantly surprised to find an album with a fresh, summery vibe . . . but could it hold up?

At the moment, the album’s first track, “Solitary Gun” has already been played twice in my hipster iTunes and will probably get another spin before this review is over.  The album’s perky drum & acoustic flavor reeks of summertime and exudes happiness from every angle of its opening moments.  At times, lead singer Zach Rogue (Zach Schwartz) sounds an apt replacement for Ben Gibbard, but the music behind him is so much more alive than some Death Cab For Cutie albums.  There’s no doubt that this album begins with an acquired taste, but as long as you can untether yourself from your elitist music ways, you may find yourself enjoying the jangle of the opening few tracks.

Just as those carefree days of summer, though, Permalight continues in a way that the listener won’t really expect.  Electronic beats accompany the poppy beach rock and, at times, the choruses become a little grating . . . “Good Morning (The Future)” almost would’ve been better if left alone with Zach Rogue’s monotone cadence.  There are slow, glossy moments of attempted art rock in the middle of Rogue Wave’s leisure-rock that seem a tad like filler as they venture into the unfortunate, synth-pop radio waves that are oh-so-popular with the kids these days.  It really is on the bookends of the album that Rogue Wave earn their keep.  “Permalight” the title track, functions with a bit of funk and jazz with weird MIDI noises populating the background.  If Rogue (Zach) would only abandon his “boops” and “beeps”, he’d have an effective band at his disposal.

All in all, Permalight sounds like everyone anticipated the future to be like:  bright, beeping computer sounds and pulsing electronica that has no rhyme or reason.  It’s a shame really, because at its core, Permalight could’ve been a great album relying on acoustic guitar, Rogue’s sugary-sweet vocals and simple drumbeats.  Few changes of key or timing in any song leave the album feeling very flat and not deserving of a repeat.  As I said earlier, it is the bookends of this experiment that shine through, and possibly onto summer mixtapes.  “Solitary Gun”, “Per Anger”, and “All That Remains” show that Rogue Wave, as a band and not a video game, are talented composers.  Stripped to their basics, the band could’ve had a place in serious summer memories.  In the end, the album sounds like a messy ball of musical yarn, and I was back at square one.

[MP3]  “Solitary Gun” – Rogue Wave

[MP3] “Good Morning (The Future)” – Rogue Wave

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