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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Charlotte Sometimes (click to enlarge) Tokio Hotel   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, May 5, 2008 No Age's spare punk not for the casual listener By Andy Rathbun, Herald Writer On Tuesday, new releases are scheduled to hit stores from Los Angeles punks No Age and pop singer Charlotte Sometimes, along with the English language debut of Tokio Hotel. Here's a look at each: No Age, "Nouns" (Sub Pop Records) The first time I listened to "Nouns," I felt old. There was too much static. It sounded like pure noise. The few vocals I could hear were buried in dissonance. I kept at it, though, and each time, some songs sounded sharper. Now, "Nouns" sounds like a promising album, even if it can be a challenge to muddle through. The duo, made up of drummer and vocalist Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall, aims to turn off the casual listener. The first song with immediate appeal is "Cappo," a raucous punk number. It comes 10 minutes into the 30-minute record. Accessible tracks like that are followed by sonic speed bumps such as "Keechie" and "Impossible Bouquet" -- so-called instrumentals with little structure and lots of white noise. Too often, "Nouns" gets stuck in those vaguely elitist moments, burying its sentiment under nondescript fuzz. When it rises above its pretensions, the album offers moments of crunchy brilliance. On "Here Should Be My Home," Spunt wryly complains that, "If I'm around here, then here should be my home, but it's not at all," while during "Sleeper Hold," he repeats a vague call to arms: "With passion it's true." At its best, No Age sounds like a fresh take on minimalist punk rock; too bad it's not a little more consistent. Tokio Hotel, "Scream" (Interscope) It would be easy to tear into Tokio Hotel for its ridiculous lyrics. Since I'm feeling lazy, I will. The stylized teenyboppers -- who come from Germany, not Japan -- write muddled verses which, for their sake, I hope sound better in their mother tongue. Some examples from the group's new album: "I say your name in silence. You don't want to hear it right now." I say that makes no sense. "Hope forever died. It shouldn't really be that way." Gee, you think? With a sappy blend of self-pity and self-righteousness, the lines border on offensively dumb. You might suspect the music would be better. It, after all, doesn't have to overcome a language barrier. But sadly, no. The group's mix of metal and emo sounds by the numbers and lifeless. Granted, this band isn't actually about songcraft. It's about style. Again, that's a shame, because the group looks kind of dumb. Tokio Hotel's pin-up front man, Bill Kaulitz, wears his spiky hair and eye shadow like an anime character. His twin brother, Tom Kaulitz, sports dreadlocks and a baseball cap for the St. Louis Cardinals -- odd fashion statements for an 18-year-old from Germany. The group has managed to sell millions of albums overseas and is billed as the biggest thing to come out of Germany this decade. Of course, Germany didn't have the bar set too high. Maybe I'm not the target market for this group. I am, after all, not a teenage girl. Buzz-building appearances in New York City sent the young ladies into histrionics. They screamed. I can understand wanting to do the same, but for different reasons. Charlotte Sometimes, "Waves & the Both of Us" (Geffen Records) How did Charlotte Sometimes end up on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour? Based on her debut, the slickly produced "Waves & the Both of Us," this girl sounds more fit for KISS-FM or a "Now That's What I Call Music!" compilation than the annual punk-rock festival. She comes off as the mainstream spawn of indie-friendly singers like Fiona Apple and Feist. That's not an outright bad thing, but it's also not good. She can sound a little generic. Her songs have reportedly inspired sing-alongs. It's easy to see why. Everything is clearly sung, generally delivered over a bouncing piano or friendly guitars. That approachable sound makes for an odd contrast with her often-fiery lyrics. During "Sweet Valium High" -- sample lyric: "You can beat me, I'll love you while I bruise" -- her lines sound awkwardly paired with her otherwise radio-friendly approach. Granted, those same lines also explain why she'll be playing this summer with the punk rockers. Columnist Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.

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