Review Summary: Kiddy pop to the max. Not as bad as you might think.
Back in, maybe, 1st grade (?), I remember going with my brother to the mall as he purchased a cd called Step One by Steps. I'm not sure why he bought it, maybe for the music, maybe the nearly pornographic cover. We enjoyed it the entire summer then forgot about it. I found it today in my little sister's box full of junk.
The "Band:"
Faye - She's hot, she can probably sing.
Claire - " "
H - He's ccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaazzzy! He adds a few vocals every now and then.
Lee - He (I'm guessing) sings about the same as H. He looks somewhat Hispanic (Go Diversity!).
Lisa - She's pretty hot too.
This band is basically your average, generic Disney Channel band. Do they write any of the songs? No. Do they play any instruments? No. Would they be good without picture perfect poppy production? No. But this cd is pretty lovable.
The album gets kicked off on a pretty good note with Tragedy. It's got some catchy lyrics and a pretty good dance beat. This is a definite highlight. The next song, Say You'll Be Mine is not as cheesy as the title suggests, and a good pick for a single. The song is happy and poppy, kind of like some slutty girl asking a guy out over and over. After that One For Sorrow gets going. This is another definite highlight, thanks to the great dance beat. It's sung pretty slow, so you can sing along pretty easily. The chorus is really awesome, which is what every pop song needs.
Last Thing On My Mind is yet another "first crush" like song. The singer sounds like one who sings less than the others. The chorus is really good. The verses are terrible. With that being said, there is nothing else to say. 5,6,7,8 was the bands only hit, I think. I don't think it was much of a hit, either. It's supposed to sound like some country-fused electronica. Other than some of the fast singing, the song is sort of bad. The guys in the band actually sing a little here. The chorus is the type of thing you'll get stuck in your head forever. The only real big disappointment on the cd is next, Stay With Me. It's almost a little too naughty for 8 year olds to be listening to, but hopefully they won't listen because it's so bad. The chorus really isn't even that catchy, and the fact that it's so slow doesn't help.
Loves Got A Hold On My Heart has some catchy synth in it. I really like the singing during the verses. I don't know if these voices could get any poppier. The singing is really good all throughout. The song starts to sound a lot like the rest of the album, unfortunately. A song that brings back a lot of memories is After The Love Is Gone. This is a slow/fast hybrid song that's pretty catchy. I'm pretty fond of the chorus. Heartbeat is next. The whole song is pretty boring, lame, and bland except for the chorus. The chorus is actually really good, but that's about it.
The end of the album is just awesome compared to the rest. Deeper Shade Of Blue is by far the best song of all. The drum machine at this point has gotten so generic and cliche that you don't really even care. The verses are ok. The best part of the song, and the album, is the chorus of this song. It must be about being sad, and the lyrics are pretty creative. There's some little synth thing programmed in every now and then that adds more catchiness. If you've heard this song, you'll admit it's awesome. Once Better The Devil You Know starts up, it seems to sound like all the other songs rolled together. The verses sound like that too. Each song on the album has a unique chorus though, and this is no exception. This chorus is the most creative, and the standout part of the whole song.
This is the type of cd that you'll probably only enjoy if you're in the sub-10 years old range, and I doubt anyone reading this is. But if for some reason you really enjoy bands like B*Witched or 5ive, or are just looking for some weird nostalgic music, this might be ok to pick up.
