With three albums and four years of mainstream success, Neon Trees is still stuck in a stage of immaturity and adolescence.
Like the band’s previous albums, “Pop Psychology” is yet another 40-minute long complaint about teenage problems, unrequited love and even more teenage problems. While songs like “Love In the 21st Century” and “Text Me In the Morning” are catchy, the overall quality of the lyrics can be summarized in one word: banal.
The song “Love In the 21st Century” kicks off the album with the loud, pop-rock sound that the group has been consistently delivering since its debut album, “Habits.” It’s a catchy tune with childish and corny lyrics that lack logical flow.
“I guess it’s love in the 21st century/ Whoa oh, it’s tough, broken-heart technology/ Your kisses taste so sweet/ But then you click delete,” lead singer Tyler Glenn sings in the chorus.
Nonetheless, the song is a strong introduction because it shows that the band has finally stopped trying its hardest to sound like a faux punk rock band and moved more toward pop and electronic rock, a niche that it fits very well.
The next three songs stay faithful to the example that “Love In the 21st Century” sets, but in an unoriginal, almost copycat way. The band has a tendency to compose songs that follow a formula consisting of slow buildups, loud choruses and diluted verses that repeat over and over. The melodies of these first four songs are so similar that it’s easy to confuse one for any of the others. None of them really stand out, with the exception of the third track, “Sleeping With a Friend.”
“I said ooh, ooh/ You got me in the mood, mood/ I’m scared/ But if my heart’s gonna break before the night will end/ I said ooh, ooh we’re in danger,” Glenn sings.
The track is befittingly the album’s lead single, for it is the catchiest song on “Pop Psychology.” The song has a strong opening, with a memorable chorus that is easy to sing along to. Unlike most of the other tracks, its lyrics flow logically and make sense; however, they are still hopelessly superficial and vapid.
The quality of the music does not improve with “Teenager In Love” or “I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends).” These two tracks continue in the vein of irritating, adolescent whining about how love is too difficult, how romance is a terrible thing and how posers irritate them.
Perhaps the band is trying to make listeners go down a path of nostalgia and reminiscence about high school, but this whole trajectory of angst-ridden lyrics and juvenile complaints is not making anyone take Neon Trees seriously. Where’s the analysis of human nature that the album title “Pop Psychology” suggests.
The one song that redeems the entire album is “Unavoidable,” a softer, electronic pop duet sung by Glenn and drummer Elaine Bradley. The track is a sharp but welcome deviation from the album’s stock pop-rock sound. Bradley and Glenn’s voices really complement each other and create a smooth and pleasant vocal harmony.
“It feels so right/ We kiss so high/ But the feelings come and go on every night/ Yeah it won’t ever take much to make me stay,” Bradley and Glenn sing.
For once, there is no banal complaining about unrequited love. This track signals the band’s possible movement toward more mature lyrics and a more electronic pop sound that still retains a taste of indie rock.
The next track, “Voices In the Halls,” has the weakest melody but contains the strongest lyrics. It has a Christian pop sound to it and details grief, loneliness and abandonment.
“I can taste your lemonade/ Bittersweet like every summer fling/ And keeping up with all your stories/ Talking to your ghost when I’m asleep,” Glenn sings in the song’s introduction.
The last few songs bring the album back to its starting point, but with the addition of unsavory and off-putting experimentation. Guitar and saxophone solos appear out of nowhere while teen pop, punk, alternative rock and gospel choir are mixed together into a jarring, choppy composite. The lyrics once again leave much to be desired. It’s a weak way to end the album, especially since these tracks come right after refreshingly different songs like “Unavoidable” and “Voices In the Halls.”
Ultimately, “Pop Psychology” is full of catchy songs that are fun to sing along to, but its momentum stops there. There’s nothing profound in this album; perhaps the only thing that suggests complexity within this otherwise adolescent, immature record is its title.
– Christina Vo
The bulk of popular radio music consists of banal and chauvinistic music that appeals to countless people. Thank you for the review.
I would like to suggest some albums for review: Singles by Future Islands, Atlas by Real Estate, and Lost in the Dream by The War on Drugs. They are quite excellent.