Rating:

(Geffen, 2005) The Like’s first full length LP, Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?, is something like what you might expect from a trio of girls wearing camisoles and sundresses in the album art, with a baby deer on the front cover. Lead singer Z Berg has a pretty voice, but it’s otherwise unexceptional, and the band is competent, but doesn’t display any particular virtuosity on the thirteen tracks of alternative rock. Producers Wendy Melvoin and John Goodmanson also provide a slick veneer to the whole affair, keeping too much growl out of the guitars or Berg’s voice, and making sure the bass and drums are crisp and clean, but not aggressive. Even the most rocking tracks, such as the uptempo “What I Say and What I Mean” and dancey “Under the Paving Stones” are pretty safe. That’s not to say this isn’t a catchy disc, because it is. The melody of the verses to “(So I’ll Sit Here) Waiting” can get stuck on repeat in a brain for days at a time, and the vocal harmonies on each song practically beg to be sung along with the record. Unfortunately, the disc somehow struggles to hold onto a listener through the course of the whole album. Granted, that’s a difficult task for nearly 48 minutes, but there are a few too many duds on Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?, and they drag the album down a bit. For every “Too Late” or “(So I’ll Sit Here) Waiting,” there’s a “Bridge to Nowhere” or “We Are Lost” to bring the band back to earth. The Like certainly have potential, as their best tracks have shown, but there’s still room for improvement.

1.  June Gloom
2.  What I Say and What I Mean
3.  You Bring Me Down
4.  (So I'll Sit Here) Waiting
5.  Bridge To Nowhere
6.  Once Things Look Up
7.  Under The Paving Stones
8.  Too Late
9.  We Are Lost
10. The One
11. Mrs. Actually
12. Falling Away
13. Waves That Never Break

Buy album

– Kevin

This 3-beetsreview was posted on February 3rd, 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.