In the Movies - The Jette Planes

What's new buckaroo?

This album is a whole lot of fun. Instrumentally, it has a lot of diversity from all instruments, while managing to still feel like one cohesive album. So many good ideas of how to make sounds that are pleasing to the ears. I feel the need to play with a beach ball while listening to most of this. Which is a good thing in general.

Though I haven't actually heard a lot of the "Beach Boys", from what I know this album takes inspiration from their stuff. The chord progressions really are West Coast Swimsuit Style...whatever that means.

Look the bottom line is I love the music. And the vocals are pretty good too. They get better as the album goes on. The secondary vocalist is really better than the fellow that sings most of the time, but the style of music means that the intonation doesn't have to be perfect all the time. Again...I'm playing with a beach ball while it's 75 degrees and sunny, not smoking a cigar and reading the evening news. I can live with it.

My main gripe is the words. To start, about 85% of the words in this album don't make a lot of sense to me. I can hear them...they just don't make sense. Here's an example:

"When a girl is brought onto an island

She'll scream for her life"

...will she?? Oh shit...well thank you for telling me I'm gonna cancel that island trip I was planning for my sister. And then, the VERY next line is...

"Pick up the clock cause time is on your side

I can't even get my hands to wrap around mine"

...

...

...me neither? Uhh...hang on I'm trying to wrap MY hands to wrap around MY hands HANG ON A SEC.

So, that's just a few bars out of many that don't really make any sense to me. And hey, I would NOT be surprised if I'm missing some metaphorical messaging here. But either way, my appreciation for the album is not stunted by my lack of understanding the words. Why? Because I'm playing with a beach ball while listening to this. I'm playing with a beach ball.

Exciting. Peppy. Sandy Beach.

Beach Ball 8