 | | Gisli
How About That?
EMI |
What do we know about the young Icelandic by-way-of Norway solo artist, Gisli? Well, we know unequivocally that the strongest comparison point for his brand of shtick-heavy mid-90's alternative pop-rock is Beck. His press release refers to him as "the Icelandic Beck," just in case we couldn't get to that comparison on our own. So, he sounds like Beck, it's true, that much is clear. What's not clear is whether liking Beck would be considered a prerequisite or a detriment to enjoying Gisli's brand of alt-pop.
Gisli could potentially tap into, literally, millions of fans that have bought Beck albums worldwide, and that's not even including those people that have picked up Eels and New Radicals records and absolutely had to have that Butthole Surfers track, "Pepper." But will they want to?
I wouldn't consider myself a huge Beck fan, but I do respect the guy and occasionally enjoy some of his recordings, like the mellow, understated singer/songwriter tunes on Sea Change. What I have never been able to wrap my hands around is his sophomoric Beastie Boy-styled white guy rap(rock), like the tracks I heard from the recent release Guero and much of his earlier work. Now, I may be (am) in the minority with my taste preference, but I suspect that even the fans of Beck's cheesier side actually appreciate the fact that not everything he does appeals to base interests. Unfortunately with lyrics like, "I'm like a teenage girl without her top on, I'm like lesbian sex without a strap-on, I'm like Wu-Tang clan without the ex-cons, I'm like soft porn without the turn-ons," all over How About That, I can't help but think that this stuff lacks all evidence of nuance, a crime many of Gisli's predecessors try to steer clear of.
Before this review starts to come off as too grandstanding, let me state that I get what Gisli is trying to with his music, and he does a good job at that. You will not find an out of place chord, a lyric without a proper rhyme, or a lack of enthusiasm and ideas on How About That. It's just that the ideas sound all too familiar, like we've had a whole host of Gislis paraded before our eyes and ears, long before this Gisli got to bring his message to the masses. The Barenaked Ladies wrote a song called "It's all been done before," eight years ago, and that's coming from the band who also wrote "One Week," another song in the long line of stinky cheese that leads directly to Gisli's How About That.
- Jacob Claveloux | 2006-10-05
