Cute Is What They Aim For (The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch - Cute Is What We Aim For)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch - Cute Is What We Aim For
Date:	11/10/07 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A beautiful album consisting of 12 strong tracks

Disadvantages: Some dodgy lyrics at times

Cute Is What We Aim For are a four piece Power Pop band hailing from Buffalo, New York. Having formed in 2005, the band released this début album 'The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch' in 2006 through the record label Fueled By Ramen. Shifting 13,651 album copies in the first week of release, the album broke the record label's internal record set by Panic At The Disco's 2005 release of 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' by a massive 4000 copies. Given that Panic At The Disco's album went on to become a Platinum selling album (selling over one million copies), this is quite an achievement. The band have gained massively in popularity since the release of their album last year, and have unsurprisingly now been snapped up by Atlantic Records.

'The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch' is one of my favourite albums from recent years and is an album that I continuously go back and listen to without ever having gotten tired of doing so. Although the music of Cute is What We Aim For is incredibly catchy and musically extremely well written, one element that does let them down is that their lyrics can sometimes be extremely childish. It is therefore greatly amusing to hear vocalist Shaant Hacikyan arrogantly boast of their music that it is "power pop with intellectual lyrics". With an album containing lines such as 'If you lie, you don't deserve to have friends / If you lie, you don't deserve to have them', I fail to see how Hacikyan could ever possibly see these lyrics as intelligently written, however the music is good so I'll let his arrogance slide.

For me, the album has many high points and in fact each and every single one of the twelve tracks on display here have me singing and dancing along. There are of course a few that do impress me more than others mind, these being opening track 'Newport Living', the mighty 'Risque', 'Sweat the Battle Before the Battle Sweats You', 'The Curse Of Curves' and the albums closer 'Teasing to Please (Left Side, Strong Side)'. It is perhaps harsh to say that these five impress me more than the others as when I listen to the album I listen to it as a whole and never tend to listen to the tracks individually, however when I think of the album it is these that spring to mind first.

I love opening track 'Newport Living' as I feel that it kicks the album off perfectly with its energetic and exciting pace, slick vocal styling and infectious catchiness. It is always important for me that an album has a strong opening track, and this is definitely the case with 'The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch'. 'Risque' is another track with a strong opening, and again it is the vocals of Shaant Hacikyan that really open this one up. The sound here is so clean and the production values so slick, something I feel always goes a long way when it comes to this kind of Power Pop/Pop Punk sound. The sound here is extremely crisp in all respects, making for a truly stunning listening experience. While some bands can sound over-produced and boring when this kind of sound is employed, with Cute Is What We Aim For the end result here is beautiful. Following on from 'Risque' is another of the highlights for me; 'Sweat the Battle Before the Battle Sweats You', a similarly beautifully crafted track that makes for a highly memorable and greatly impressive listen.

Right from the first time I ever listened to the album, it was 'The Curse Of Curves' that stood out for me from the offset. It is no surprise then that this was the second single taken from the album as it truly is a great track. Clocking in at three and a half minute, the band bounce through this one with a great air of living for the moment, and you get a true sense that they are a band loving the music that they are creating. All pieces of this track just seem to fit together; the glossy vocals, smashing drum beats, and alluring harmonies of the guitars altogether perfect. As I listen to this one, I just never want for it to come to and end. It truly is a mesmerising track that will have you in a trance in awe of just how breathtakingly spectacular this band can be.

With closing track 'Teasing to Please (Left Side, Strong Side)', it is clear that the band have been saving the best until last. I always love it when bands finish an album on good terms as sometimes a bad track at the end of an album can ruin what has otherwise been an amazing listening experience, however this is certainly not what Cute Is What We Aim For have done with this one. Although there is a definite air of finality surrounding this track which in a way potentially makes for a rather saddening listen, the fact the track is so well written and produced mean that this is not so. The band keep you entertained right until the last second of the album, and when the last second of the album ticks over, you find yourself reaching straight over to listen to the album from beginning to end all over again.

Having now signed to Atlantic Records, the band will surely soon be coming out with a second album. I for one can't wait for them to do so, as if they produce another album anywhere near as good as this first one then we will all be in for a massive treat. There was great animosity surrounding this album for the bands 'excessive' use of Auto-Tune, an audio tool used to disguise any mistakes or inaccuracies encountered during recording. The album's producer Matt Squire, and Cute Is What We Aim For vocalist Shaant Hacikyan admitted that Auto-Tune had been utilised during the recording of this album, however I do not feel that the band should be criticised for this as 'The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch' is a mightily impressive album, and even with the use of Auto-Tune there are many an artist that still fail to impress. Sure, Auto-Tune can cover up minor mistakes and inaccuracies but it can not account for the fact that Cute is What We Aim For début album is a fantastically infectious affair of twelve musically well written Pop songs. It is not easy to write good Pop music, however on twelve occasions Cute Is What We Aim For have here proven that they are able to do so and should be respected for that. There are not many bands that get it right with their first album, however Cute Is What We Aim For can without a doubt be seen as one of them.


Label: Fueled By Ramen
Release Date: 18th September 2006


Official Website: http://www.cuteiswhatweaimfor.com/

Summary: A great debut album from the New York Power Pop four piece.