Stereo Skyline - Stuck On Repeat
Stereo Skyline
Stuck On Repeat
On their major label debut, the eight-track Stuck On Repeat, Stereo Skyline deliver slab after slab of nü power-pop, with each sub-three-minute song loaded with Auto-Tuned vocals, cheesy woosh sound effects, the most basic of lyrics (sample: “Baby, you're my Rocky Road… It's like a cavity for sure/Here's the scoop,” from “Me & You”) and an all-around level of saccharine that makes the Maine sound like Slayer. And yet, this thing doesn't suck. “A Little More Us” sounds like a young Ace Enders fronting the Jonas Brothers; “Me & You” draws from Owl City's more unabashedly cheddar moments (think OC's “Dental Care”) and “Tongue Tied” and “Heartbeat” are both instantly likable, with hooks you'll have a hard time forgetting. Of course, much of Repeat's immediate pop appeal can be chalked up to a bevy of co-writers including S*A*M & Sluggo, Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and former Metro Station multi-instrumentalist Blake Healy (who also produced the album within an inch of its life—this thing is slicker than the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico). Really, Repeat's biggest asset is its quick pace; the band blow through eight songs in a snappy 20 minutes, encouraging multiple spins in a row—thus not giving the listener a chance to even try and find replacements for the hooks Stereo Skyline have embedded in their highly impressionable brains.
