II

by

The Presidents of the United States of America

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The Presidents of the United States of America (phew!) came around a time when I, and most of my peers were either punking out to Green Day or head banging to the grudge sounds of Nirvana. The first time I heard "Lump" (from their self titled release) I found myself infectiously nodding my head and singing along, and in a short amount of time their first album made its way into my collection. To tell you the truth I enjoyed the refreshingly funny lyrics about making love, smashing match-box cars and tiki gods, such a sweet change of pace from the sounds of grunge and punk. By the time "...2" rolled around I was a pretty big fan and I purchased it the day it was released. Up to this day "...2" and their self-titled debut always entertain me and liven up my spirits. I honestly can say this whole album is good, but one song makes it all worth it "Mach 5" it's so much like them that I dare you to listen to it and not smile.

"II" is a very frustrating album. It's about an ounce of inspiration away from a guitar-pop masterpiece, but that deficit is enough to spoil the whole outing. If you want to compare "II" to the the band's debut, "The Presidents of the United States of America," think of the difference between Richard Scary and Dr. Seuss. Richard Scary is cute and clever. Dr. Seuss draws you into a dark and funny world that hems to a unique, mind-bending logic. Several songs on "II" rock hard ("Mach 5," "Volcano") and tease with sweet melodies ("Twig," "Puffy Little Shoes"), but none seem to live in the same innocent-yet-twisted world of "PUSA." Perhaps the problem is personalization. The songs on "PUSA" seemed to be about the band's life. You could picture their couch-potato buddy "Boll Weevil" and snicker as the singer fumbles his pick-up line in "Stranger." And who doesn't want to be "Naked and Famous"? In contrast, the band seems to have written the songs on "II" by placing copies of "People" and "Scientific American" in a blender and then straining for cute pop-culture references. Yawn. Still, you have to laugh at the enormous size of their cojones; the decidedly weak attempt at emulating the Intro-Exit concept of "Sgt. Pepper's" is a stitch, right down to the resonanting, minute-long chord that ends the album.