There are few bands who could make their whole album into my MP3 player. Most of us, if anything, select a 2-3 tracks and move on. This, however, has not been the case with
Theme Park's self-titled
debut album. The
British band's album has been on repeat ever since it came out 2 weeks ago, and up to now, it is in my short list for "Albums of the Year".
The trio has managed to compose 11 tracks that should provide a worth-while experience. They go from
synth-pop to
new wave to
island-esque sounds effortlessly. The only drawback to the album was their exclusion of "
Milk" and
"A Mountain of Love", which are really good tracks.
Overall, this album gets a 4 out of 5.
Track Listing:
1.
Big Dream - has a good baseline and is just the appetizer, enticing the ears.
2.
Jamaica - This perhaps has become my favorite track. It has this really fun, and summer vibe that I can't help, but want to dance.
3.
Two Hours - has an 80's
INXS vibe, but without the voice. It's just a nice song to spin around the room dancing.
4.
A Place They'll Never Know -
80's synth-pop sound to it. It has a slow vibe, but could be an early morning track on the dance floor. The bridge of the song leaves the possibility for a remix.
5.
Tonight - is just fun. This song has become the first song I play before heading out for the night. It should work itself into the dance floor in some clubs. I expect a remix of this song. It has limitless potential.
6.
Saccades (Lines We Delay) - Every album has the intermission track. This one is it. It's the album's interlude. The track gets going around the 2:06 mark.
7.
Wax - the first track I heard from this amazing band. How good is this track? Well, it made me want to get an RSS feed on them. For some reason, I like the single version better.
8.
Ghosts - has a great
Jamaican/funky riff. This is really a nice "
romantic" song with a mid-afternoon pre-party vibe.
9.
Still Life - The second slow paced song. This track is ok. It does have a good baseline. It should be a song they play at the end of their shows.
10.
Los Chikas - grammatically incorrect in Spanish. At 2 minutes this track is really background noise and their weakest link. They could have added
"Milk" instead.
11.
Blind - a down tempo song that, to me, has a similarity to "Ghosts". It is still a good track and definitely worth a listen.
Honorable Mentions
The singles of this album have some good B-Sides. These include:
1.
A Mountain We Love - could be found on the
Wax EP. It could have easily taken the place of
"Still Life"
2.
Milk - the second song I heard from this band. As stated above, it could have easily replaced half of the songs in this album. It is a really good track that got left out of the album. I guess something to get people to buy the singles.
