Search - Prozzak :: Cruel, Cruel World

Well worth the import price

daryl large | OH | 01/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"prozzak was a pleasant surprise in pop music at the end and beginning of the new millenium. with "hot show," the cartoon duo danced among all of the other hyper-produced pop. they made very catchy and fun songs about their adventures in the pursuit of true love -- excellent and original pop music with a euro-club dance beat. their return with "saturday people" (import in the states) proved that they could continue making the same kind of pop-dance music, while the inclusion of more voice skits and song introductions widened their cartoon personality. prozzak skirted somewhere between a happy hardcore rave and pop radio, balancing cheesy with catchy. what a refreshing sound when i needed something fun to listen to!



this sound has changed with "cruel, cruel world" though. oh, it's still quite catchy and original, but the semi-manic dance-pop has been replaced with more guitar from milo and more serious (and well sung) lyrics from simon (i'm not getting their names confused, and i?). the words "indie scene" and "hipster party" are even stated, which seems to be exactly what they're going for here. forget about the young raving audience of "saturday people" -- now we're talking about rocking, with a little emo and ambiant tech mixed in. this is indie pop music, like simian, phoenix or supergrass, with a little jr boys and david gray. the bleak cover, compared to the bright and glowing covers of before, suggests this change as well.



the first five tracks are the strongest, lyrically and musically. "tricky" is the tastiess track, from its turn-it-up intro to its deadpan rap to its all-out chourus and beautiful plea: "come on baby, can we do it again. you know i love the way i love you, and we're such good friends." it even has an ironic kind of lou reed reference at the end.



"when i think of you," the first single (with a comparatively poorly animated video) has hints of the kind of guitar hooks that prozzak used to embody, as well as an almost-radiohead feel. "how beautiful" is pure sunshine, and "just friends" is good noisy emo. "starting over" is their most emotionally resonant song.



but after these, the album loses some of its ambition. the tracks seem less inspired, like demos of songs-to-be that didnt fit on any other album. still, the songs aren't bad by any means, just not as memorable as the openers (the inclusion of a female vocalist again is a nice surprise, though). unlike their other albums, not every song here is single-worthy.



also, there are NO skits or spoken introductions or even a brief story about their destiny of love. the real simon and milo are leaving this story installment up to the fans. finally, the song "get a clue" from the "simon and milo" stateside disney release isnt included. yes, i am a nerd.



yet even without the fun cartoon skits, and even without the semi-techno dance pop, this "adult" transition album has exactly what i want from prozzak: music that, while sometimes undeniably cheesy, is always fun to listen to. compared to most pop music, this is saying a lot."