What Superchic[k]'s got
Posted June 19, 2008
By Nathan,
‘We believe that every person regardless of age, gender, size or any other reason you can come up with, was created on purpose and for a purpose… Every person has greatness in them and something special and unique to offer the world… We have a world out there that is a mess and looking for someone or something to give them a reason to live… You could be the next Mother Teresa that shows millions love or a janitor that shows one person love. It's not in the big or in the small it's in the doing...' – Superchic[k]
It’s been nearly three years and three hit singles since Superchic[k]’s last, and most successful, album Beauty from Pain. Always musically strong weather from the excellent and infectious beats to Trisha Brock’s star vocals their latest album Rock what you Got is poised to bring all that along with their lyrics about challenging the status quo.
Leading off the much anticipated CD is the title track “Rock what you got” which is a rock song which doesn’t flatter their usually cutting edge music, as the rock music is amateurish, the chorus is repetitive, and Brock’s vocal’s a little whiney. When it comes to “alive” much of the same applies, very repetitive beat and refrain, whiney vocals, and a tune which makes it seem like Superchic[k] is a debut band rather than a very accomplished one. The first radio single “hey hey” starts awkwardly with the basic stanza and the wimpy whispering, but with the infectious beat of the upbeat chorus it quickly turns “hey hey” into a favorite. The album slows down somewhat as the style of music reverts into classical Superchic[k] on “hold” which uses a light pop rock tune where Brocks voice shine. “Breathe” is a acoustic song where it’s mainly Brocks vocals and the piano; the end result is a solid song which brings balance to the formula of the CD. It’s like “So beautiful” is taken right out of Barlow Girls “million voices”, the rock style of music is similar and so is the chorus of singers in the background, the only thing different is there is a little techno.
The album really jumps into gear in “cross the line” which starts and doesn’t stop, as the really upbeat music is very smooth and almost punk/rock is solid. The opening verse in “one more” sounds very muffled at first, as if to disuse the rock outburst that is to come, and when it comes it’s in the form of a repetitive (but impressive along with the bridge) rock song that is heavier than a former Superchic[k] song “it’s on”. The album doesn’t end with “Crawl (Carry Me Through)”, but it could very well be the ending with the format of the album. Sounding like a slightly weaker version of “beauty from pain”, “Crawl” is a light acoustic rock song which is solid. Previous smash hit “stand in the rain” is featured on the end of Rock what you Got, the medium emotional rock is amazing, although the song is very unnecessary for the album, especially the ending piano bit. The album is thrown into a pointless, but fun, last minute electric guitar frenzy (“Dave Ghazarian: Guitar Hero”), where in one part of the noise there is a bit that sounds exactly like Marty McFly in Back to the Future.
It seems that when Superchic[k] is in a Christian outlet, they are more than ready to talk about their faith in God, but when it comes to actually saying something to their ever increasing mainstream audience they shy away. What kind of a message is Superchic[k] conveying on their title track? ‘rock what you got and don’t let them stop you’; wow deep message. How about “alive”? ‘I'm alive, I'm alive/that's what I say/I'm alive and gonna live today’, a great theological song. “Hey hey”? ‘Why kiss the feet of the people who kick you /When you can be anything that you want to’ very impressive. The first three songs are about being alive, rocking what you got, and not following the status quo and saying “hey hey”, but that’s okay because so many Christians don’t take a stand for their faith so good message right? Wrong, because there is absolutely no reference to Christ or any higher power mentioned. “Hold” doesn’t state who is the ‘you’ in the song, but following the trend, it is probably not God.
The song “breathe” doesn’t specify much, and “so beautiful” is probably not talking about outer beauty, but inward, but still there is no reason behind why there is a need for an army anyway. Just when you think “cross the line” is an opening for Superchic[k] to say something eternal (‘everyone dies but not everyone lives’) it goes on to talk about not succumbing to the natural order of things without telling the listeners why we should or who was the one that dies and rose again. “One more” is pathetic, but the bright lyrical spot in the album is when Superchic[k] asks the Lord not to forget then, but as deep songs go it’s still pretty shallow. Although “stand In the rain” is held in such high regard the song really doesn’t say anything; just about standing through the pain (nowhere is God mentioned).
Overall the music is better than solid, most of it is cutting edge, and while a few songs are a little cheesy, the album as a whole is strong. Maybe not quite as good as Beauty from Pain (especially the 1.1 version), but certainly not a anything to be ashamed of. The real problem is with the lyrics. It’s clear that Superchic[k] needs to stop recycling the “be strong, “your life is worth living”, and do something with your life”, and just move onto something new and fresh, as it seems like half of the messages on the album are the same (just with different beats). Superchic[k] is all about taking a stand and not conforming to this world, but when it comes to God and his values Rock what you Got does just that.
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