Morningwood - Diamonds and Studs
Rating
RIYL
The SoundsParamore
Damone
Dandy Warhols
Release Date
10/27/2009
Label
VH1Tracklist
1 Best Of Me2 Killer Life
3 Hot Tonight
4 How You Know It's Love
5 Snobby Little Elf
6 Sugarbaby
7 Bitches
8 Addicted
9 Bipolar Bear
10 Teenage
11 That's My Tune
12 Three's A Crowd
13 Cat In A Box
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A few years back a friend of mine attended a concert. When asked how it was, he replied with: “It was good, but I got touched in the face by Morningwood.” Needless to say, I was confused by what he was trying to tell me. After a few seconds of awkward stares, he finally told me that it was a band. It was intriguing, but based on title alone I couldn’t help but assume they were nothing short of a gimmick. I wasn’t far from wrong at the time, but it looks like Morningwood is aiming to achieve some longevity with their sophomore release.
Morningwood’s debut self-titled album was riddled with bubblegum-pop and addictive hooks, but it fell short of being much more than that. With a name inspired by a particular male phenomenon, it was hard to see them going any further. They’ve clearly taken the time to refine their sound and even learned a thing or two from some of the more established artists in the pop scene. They start things off with “Best of Me,” a confident anthem that just screams The Sounds. The amount of maturity between this release and their previous is staggering. They’ve maintained the sugar-sweet hooks that made them who they are, but they’ve added a little more to the recipe.
“How You Know It’s Love” and “Snobby Little Elf” show just how far they’ve progressed as a band. Diamonds and Studs does drag a bit near the middle of the album, but it picks right back up and finishes off with arguably some of the best songs they’ve written. “Cat in a Box”, the final track, proves that the band knows how to pull off slower, more introspective songs as well.
The “sexual band with a female singer not afraid to sing about dirty topics” shtick has been done countless times, but it looks like Morningwood may be trying to differentiate themselves from that with this release. There are plenty of songs that cover those tired, sexual themes they built a career on, but there’s also plenty aside from that here to enjoy. They’ve obviously taken the time to learn how to write a genuinely enjoyable tune that doesn’t need to rely on sex or shock-factor to be appreciated. The outcome may be comparable to a version of The Sounds with more attitude, but is that such a bad thing?
Regardless of the slight lull sandwiched in the middle of the album, Diamonds and Studs is exactly what Morningwood needed. Morningwood is here for the long run, and that isn’t such a bad thing. The album is not perfect, or even particularly inventive, but it is extremely good for what it is: a fun album with equal parts pop and attitude.
--Dant Rambo
Comments
I heard the only reason Morningwood survived getting axed from Capitol when they cleaned house was because they managed to license a lot of their songs even though their sales record sucks. Still I'm surprised they paid to release another record from this band, although given the minimal push I've seen for it, maybe they aren't paying all that much.
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Minnesota
After reading the review, for the life of me, I have no freakin' clue what the band sounds like.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Fort Bragg, CA
You should have said something, man. Guess that isn't your responsibility. I can go back and add more about the actual sound.
Fort Bragg, CA
You have mail, sir.