Sunday, October 05, 2008
A+E, Music, Reviews

GYM CLASS HEROES

“QUILT” (FUELED BY RAMEN)

Gym Class Heroes are all outline and no fleshed-out narrative. I’ve never heard a group that could evoke so much joyous head-bobbing and teeth-gnashing in my life. On “Quilt,” the strengths that hinted at a promising future become subsumed by the weaknesses we worried about in the first place on their 2006 mega-hit, “As Cruel As School Children.”

The “live instrumentation” that was supposed to give the group Roots-like street cred gets buried in so many predictable loops, beats and piano/synth phrasings that the descriptive tag “alternative hip-hop” can now be permanently replaced by “hip-pop.” MC Travis McCoy might still have a fairly precise delivery that respects the beats, but he also seems to be reaching for a depth that will forever elude him. On the sappy “Like Father, Like Son (Papa’s Song),” he half-emotes, “Papa was a rolling stone /But I want to be the cover of a Rolling Stone." His marriage of wistful parental issues and naked ambition feels as false as the commercial-jingle piano and crying-baby samples that lie beneath it. (Where are the Temptations when you need them?)

“Peace Sign/Index Down” features a guest turn by Busta Rhymes that neither elevates the group’s profile nor makes the rap veteran seem hip for a younger audience. Other guest appearances include Darryl Hall, McCoy’s idol, on “Live Forever (Fly With Me)” and Estelle on the opener “Guilty As Charged”—one of the album’s best.

“Quilt” inadvertently lives up to its title; too many producers, too many guest turns and too many agendas make this a rather delightful and infuriating mess. 2 STARS—David Lee Simmons