Hey Willpower

P.D.A.

[1.5/5]

On paper, Hey Willpower’s full-length debut should be a non-stop party. After all, the duo is Will Schwartz of Imperial Teen-a sugary indie-rock band known for their shimmy-shimmy-shaking-and Tomo Yasuda of Tussle, the San Francisco-based percussion-heavy dance-funk group. But P.D.A.’s retro-electro and ’80s-era hip-hop jams forget the first rule of pop music: Be catchy, not cloying and repetitive. The songs feature countless tired hip-pop clichés: Gratuitous scratching, tinny programmed beats, burbling keyboards and faux-sexy lyrics. (“Magic Window” actually uses the phrase “hum to the party in my pants” unironically.) Even worse is “Uh-Uh-Uh,” a dance-floor grinder whose braindead phrasing (“I’ll be Willy Wonka/You’ll be my candy toy”) makes Britney Spears seem genius by comparison. More tracks like “Hundredaire” (a jam as funky and seductive as ’80s-era Prince) or “Not Trippin’” (a soulful R&B/Michael Jackson homage) would have improved P.D.A.. Taken as is, perhaps only a Justin Timberlake cameo could redeem it. (TOMLAB) Annie Zaleski