Get Set Go

Selling Out & Going Home

(TSR)

Record Review by Marcel Feldmar

Seems like a strange album title for a band who, according to their press release, is best known for being on Grey’s Anatomy. Myself, I’ve never watched the show – so I don’t know Get Set Go from The Go! Team, The Go-Go’s, or even Ok Go! I just know that these LA boys are pushing out some nice pop rock with hints of happy punk thrown in against the occasional moody “life sucks” piece. I hear some Cheap Trick influences creeping in, as well as a touch of Rhett Miller in the vocals, and there are some nice power chord changes along the way. Some songs touch on a deeper, darker subject matter, and, just so you know, they aren’t hidden by poetic or obscure song titles. They give you pretty much what they say they’re gonna give:  sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s also a bit disconcerting when listening to music that could be floating around in some Beach Boy or Weezer B-side back catalog and hearing the lyrics telling you about how you’re going to die alone. This seems to be the band’s mode of operating: happy, dance-around tunes that contain lyrics and sentiments of a dark and depressing nature. It works for them, but it’s not exactly great for a Valentine’s Day mix. It’s not always the easiest thing to listen to… I mean, I can handle smiling and bobbing my head to “I’ll be your Heroin”—“You’re The Infection” is a little more difficult, though. As catchy as some of these songs are, it would be a little embarrassing to be caught singing them to yourself while on the bus home from work.