Lola Ray is a band without an identity.
Their debut album "I don't Know You" starts off on a really cool note. The first track, "Plague" has a really cool British pop punk sort of like early "The Living End" but that’s when the former Catholic School boys from San Juan Capistrano California, drift off into a jumble of musical styles.
Musically Lola Ray is solid and quite expansive in range, which for young band can hurt as they search for an identity. I'm not sure if they are a punk band, a pop band, regular rock, or even an art house band. They want to be a little bit of all, but they end up being none. While they excel musically their lyrics are so bad and clichéd it absolutely kills this album. From slow sardonic ballads with the lyrical depth of a puddle to bizarre folk inspired songs about walking through the forest. "I've got my cigarettes, my slow motion silhouettes" - WHAT?
The band got their big break when Good Charlotte was rehearsing in a nearby studio and Benji needed an acoustic guitar, the guys brought him one and a copy of the demo of "I Don't Know You". By chance Benji listened to it and he was totally into it, and signed Lola Ray to his new label DC Flag, and how can it not be good if one of the dudes from Good Charlotte liked it.
In short Lola Ray is a below average pop-rock band that could possible entertain a tween whose is "too mature" for Lindsay Lohan, but after that I guess there are people who listen to bad music for the irony. If you fit into one of those groups feel free to pick up this album, if your not you might want to avoid it. |