Rozwell Kid
Precious Art
Reviewed by: Max Miller
Press materials for Rozwell Kid suggest that I will like them if I also like Weezer, Thin Lizzy, The Darkness, and Dinosaur Jr. Oh my, I like all of those bands. That’s a damn tall order there. Each of these bands are very unlike the others, but the one central quality that unites them is probably this: They all know that searing guitar leads are a lot of fun. Rozwell Kid have staked their entire career on having fun and shredding guitar.
The West Virginia-based four-piece aren’t alone, however. Despite rock losing cultural dominance, there are plenty of active mid-tier bands who have come to preach the word that loud, often-harmonized guitar leads can provide a bridge to transcendence. Diarrhea Planet are perhaps the kings of this philosophy. Tony Molina, Happy Diving, JEFF the Brotherhood, Crying, and Sheer Mag have all embodied it to some degree. Rozwell Kid have been proud members of this flock since 2011, and now, with Precious Art, their fourth full-length, they intend to prove that they can stand with the best.
The formula for a Rozwell Kid song is not complex. Frontman Jordan Hudkins sings some emotive lyrics about some kind of incredibly stupid situation — throwing away his clothes in a Wendy’s trash can on “Wendy’s Trash Can,” accidentally smearing a booger on his phone screen on “Booger,” watching UHF on DVD on “UHF On DVD,” etc. Part of the band’s overall “funness” stems purely from Hudkins’ juxtaposition of heart-on-sleeve sentiment with comic absurdity. From there, he and (impeccably-named) guitarist Adam Meisterhans throw in a few obligatory guitar leads. Bada-bing, bada-boom!
You can’t really fault Rozwell Kid for doing things by rote. Plenty of bands have established that you can do well by just dealing out the fun like a lunch lady spooning out creamed corn. White Reaper did just that with The World’s Best American Band earlier this year and it went swimmingly. Other bands break up their formulas with slight reprieves. The Darkness, Dinosaur Jr., and Crying all employ a few ballads here and there. Sheer Mag occasionally flirt with R&B and JEFF the Brotherhood and Weezer sometimes go full-on heavy metal.
On Precious Art, however, Rozwell Kid seem a little wary to stray too far from the path. They slow things down a little on “MadTV” and “Gameball” and break out the piano for the amusing throwaway cut “South By,” but otherwise keep their power-pop at a healthy eleven. It makes me feel like a grouch to lambast a band for just cutting loose and having fun, especially when it’s their entire modus operandi, but I have to call ‘em as I see ‘em. Their live show surely must be taken into consideration when appraising Rozwell Kid as a whole, and I’m sure the ripping leads and anthemic sing-alongs on tunes like “Boomerang” and epic closer “Michael Keaton” take on a new dimension in that setting. But as an album, Precious Art feels more repetitive than it does fun.
Rating: Listenable
