by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
The prelude to Power Lloyd's new album instantly reminded me of the first pornographic film I stole from my father's oak dresser drawer.
Trumpets politely squeal for 34 seconds and finally lay to rest when the voice of a '50s sports commentator says, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the album. Sit back and enjoy."
With Power Lloyd's fourth album, World Cowboy, listeners are in for a cupcake with colored sprinkles. The album is a sign of hope the music scene is finally straying from the Strokes generation.
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"Matching Luggage" is the band's only pop song, with bouncing guitar riffs and the stoic and sometimes annoying vocals of new wave. The song picks up when the entire band wails the chorus as if inebriated in a pub. I'm guessing the band members' producer told them to write the song because the rest of the album is much more bizarre.
The band has a garage-rock feel and is random at certain points - this is not a bad thing. "The Matador" is the epitome of outlandishness. It opens up with a trumpet playing and creates a scene of two Mexicans having a gun duel. If you listen closely enough, you can here a rattlesnake hiss. It segues into the song with synthesizers and an electric drum kit, and then makes yet another transition to the guitars.
The song is about sexual frustration. The lyrics are about girls in the singer's head that are shredding up the sheets like bulls and listening to disco beats. It is kind of pathetic for someone in a band to say. Don't rock stars get laid all the time?
"Portugal" is the last track on the album. The song is acoustic with a second guitar that slides through the song, giving it a somber ambience. It sounds like the vocalist is singing through a bullhorn, which adds more gloom than before.
Before you can comprehend the lyrics of the song, you just want to crawl into a ball and die. I think I shed a couple of tears listening to this song, and for all I know, they were talking about more girls shredding sheets with bulls. It reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel's "Lie-la-Lie." Call me emo, but it's the best song on the album.
I have never listened to or heard of Power Lloyd before. Perhaps it was the prelude, but this album has definitely piqued my interest.
