New Politics Has Nowhere To Go But Up

Aggression for aggression's sake has its place. The bitch of New Politics' current single is there's not much under the hood besides aggression. I can appreciate that, fresh out of the starting blocks "Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens)" gets the Jolt Cola full on rush vote. Translation: These guys take the wheel early on. Behind said wheel they're unrelenting to the point of us wishing someone would inject downer pills into their veins. There's a bend in the road leading to the chorus where the band kind of sneaks up on its connected chorus. Then, it's pounce time. Vocalist David Boyd yells out the title, not a compliment really. His voice curves at "go". Not graceful art. He's veered over into that territory of the grating sound made by a persistent alarm clock. Pre-chorus Dave gives what I guess amounts to shout-outs to his friends that didn't give a fuck. In this instance I don't much give the previously related to fuck either. Limp Bizkit and New Politics couldn't be further apart on the musical spectrum but, what they have in common is calling out to people who don't give a fuck. Shock value doesn't help New Politics artistically or financially so why go there when odds are they're not going to like what they find? Too bad nobody put a speed trap close by Louis Vechio. His drumming ought to be on some banned substances list. What's in his pee? I suspect Denmark beer with a few chasers thrown in to make sure he goes from zero to exploding in one fell swoop. Among other classifications New Politics falls under the dance rock banner. The video spotlights a great number of people living it up in style. It also shows some poor soul's head decapitating. Something for the kids to enjoy. I'm all for family entertainment. At the end there I think Manson's the family in question. Good for David for sharing with us his having smashed the window on a Lexus. A VW Rabbit wouldn't have been as compelling. Judging from stanza three we can guess which air carrier's forever bound to be grateful for the ad plug. "Higher than United" sounds pretty high. Pharmaceutical companies are going to have a field day on that imagery. Even when Soren Hansen and Mr. Vechio allow programmed syncopation to run the city much like the kings and queens themselves the MPH stays in the warning track big league ballpark zone. I don't consider myself an out of step stick in the mud but "Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens) cries "Look at me!! Look at me!!" too much to prevent its credibility from sagging into shameless self-love territory. The threesome jumps into its zingy madness but they needed to have smoothed out the prickly edges. In its completed form "Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens) brings the party people but forgets to supply a reason why any of us should be celebrating this. As a result the song goes nowhere fast. New Politics ought to be on the lookout for novel ideas otherwise its candidacy as a lasting voice in dance rock will gasp its last breath before it had its chance to shake hands and kiss babies.