Chart success is to a major label album cycle what promises are to a politician. If you’re lucky, you’ll thrive on it for a while and build a following, but if you can’t emulate that into the fold of following attempts, certain people will lose interest. Whereas a politician’s promises can come up empty or not as successful the next time around, a hit song can build up expectations that are hard to meet in the context of a full album or another single. Regarding The Neighbourhood, this troublesome pit is one they’ve tried to avoid for quite some time. After experimenting with a multitude of sounds and markets with a handful of EPs, their moderately successful debut I Love You. (and its highly successful single “Sweater Weather”), and last year’s quite enjoyable hip-hop mixtape #000000 & #FFFFFF (pronounced Black & White), they’ve unleashed their second studio album proper, Wiped Out!, for our listening pleasure. One might ask going into this record “did they top ‘Sweater Weather’?”, and the answer to that question depends on said question’s context. In terms of critical success, the answer is subjective. In terms of chart success, only time will tell. The question I had going into the record, however, was quite different. Rather than worrying about the popularity of one single, I have to wonder “does the band care about chart success over control of their sound?” I believe that with the coalescence of numerous stylistic approaches on Wiped Out!, the answer to that question is no.
After a silent introduction track titled “A Moment of Silence” (it’s literally 30 seconds of silence), Wiped Out! properly begins with “Prey”. Peppered with West coast inspired guitar reverb and set to a decently upbeat tempo, the track is a fine way to begin the album. It’s not their best opening track, but within the context of the rest of the record, it’s perfect. “Cry Baby” is one of my favorite cuts from the album. It’s backed with a very upbeat bass groove and layered vocals from singer Jesse Rutherford. It’s attention-getting and could easily pass as a single. The title track follows in a similar manner to “Prey” but acts as an opportunity for more experimentation. Initially, Rutherford’s vocals seem a little more slurred and there are hints of electronic programming in the background, but about two minutes in and the song switches to a swing like groove that’s reminiscent to some of their previous releases, only to be led by a guitar solo back into its original tempo, yet in a darker key this time. The swelling of all the layers is prevalent for about a minute or so before we’re left with a heavily reverbed guitar, Rutherford’s vocals, and a driving percussion line. The song delves into the old and new components of The Neighbourhood’s discography and closes out the first third of this record nicely.
Like many of the previous tracks, “The Beach” carries a decent amount of somberness, but its relatively slow tempo and Rutherford’s vocals in the chorus let it stand out. A lot of track titles on this record are beach inspired, and I think the band does a great job emulating what each one would sound like. It might be a little redundant at this point in the record, but it’s done effectively so I can’t really complain. “Daddy Issues” deals with similar lyricism to that of the band’s #000000 & #FFFFFF mixtape, and it’s also one of the few songs on the record that could fit into the aforementioned nicely. Some of the layers have been fed through some sort of flanger while some have that familiar, slightly distorted swelling effect. It all comes together to work as an effective deep cut. The following track “Baby Came Home 2 / Valentines” is a followup to the similarly-titled track from 2012’s I’m Sorry… EP, and while it shares a lot of elements with its predecessor, it also stands out as something different. The guitars and programming fit the mood of this record quite nicely and the mixing is also carried out well. While its length makes it to the second third of the record what “Wiped Out!” was to the first third, the track closes out with a dark, vastly layered but calm interlude.
“Greetings from Califournia” starts out off-key but uses this distortion to its advantage to mold the overall sound of the track. It almost reminds me of a darker version of I Love You.’s “Let It Go”. There’s a bit of vocal processing that blends with the almost organic drum line to give the song a hip-hop feel, but it’d be a misnomer to call it a hip-hop cut. “Ferrari” begins with a very distorted and driving guitar, but becomes slightly more minimal and darker within the first few seconds. My main complaint with this track is some of the lyricism, in particular the line “I met her at church, But she could be Satan”. I understand its placement, but it’s a little too predictable and honestly unnecessary at this point. “Single” starts out with the sounds of a toy piano, which was a clever decision on the band’s part. The rest of the track is reliant on a simple chord progression on an acoustic guitar and light percussion, excluding the bridge, to grab the listener’s attention, but many listens will make this song a fan favorite. Album closer and lead single “R.I.P. 2 My Youth” has grown on me since its release. I knew going in that this song would close the record, which was a confusing prospect to me because I don’t know of many artists that choose a closing track as a lead single, but with the rest of the songs in tow, it makes a lot of sense to end the album this way. Another track with a hip-hop beat and vocal flow, it’s the clearest Rutherford’s vocals get. Instrumentation-wise, it acts as a culmination of sorts as every soundscape and element of the record has somehow been applied in a balanced way. In many ways, it’s representative of where the band has been and where they might go in the near future.
With initial listens, Wiped Out! was a mixed bag of sorts for me. Not as mixed as I Love You., but still conflicted to some extent. Today, I can say I respect it a bit more. As far as coherence goes, it’s very concise, and while that can occasionally be to the record’s detriment, it’s quite rare. Referring to my opening remarks, Wiped Out! focuses more on completeness as a body of work rather than radio success. Indeed, there’s no “Sweater Weather” here, but some tracks carry the weight of other singles in their discography that should appease fans and casual listeners. In terms of politicians, The Neighbourhood is quite representative of a brutally honest one that tries their best while keeping their own intentions in mind. Whether or not that works is dependent on more reactions than mine alone, but I’m under the impression that if The Neighbourhood continues to experiment and tries to appease numerous listeners, another successful term is likely.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKH-rcO6PA8[/youtube]
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