Scouting for Girls

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Party Poopers
There's a kind of grim, depressing inevitability about this. It's like the stone thrown up by a lorry that hits YOUR windscreen or you agonizingly realising that brown lump under your shoe isn't a dropped Mars bar or some clogged up leaves.... 'SFG' works like this; something hurtles towards you, you think it's gonna be really painful and bad......and it is. Apart from giving me the raving needle, there is SO much fundamentally wrong with 'SFG'. It doesn't work on ANY level, it can't be sympathetically reviewed in any context, even sarcastically. It's a flat, eggy pancake of an album. It's a desperate worry as to what kind of rhino-headed cabbage would consider that this in any way resembles good music. It scores nought in the melody stakes, nought on the lyrical scale, but it wins handsomely the plankton-would-find-it-insulting league. They've tried desperately to produce it to decency, but underneath the surface shininess the cracks are showing all over the place. The workings of this particular trick are wonderfully/horribly visible, involving that heady and ghastly notion that endurance and hard work are in some way substitutes for talent and colour. 'SFG' are grey and dour. Maladjusted socially inadequate noodles, who are touring the country as I type, under the grotesque disillusion that they are in some way a pop group. Their debut album indicates otherwise. 'She's So Lovely' is a disgrace of a song. 'James Bond' has lyrics a sub-literate loonie could better, and probably worst of all (an accolade I suspect it knows it deserves) 'Elvis Ain't Dead', a despicable runt of a tune, operose and overweening, twitches to death right at the albums heart. Enough. 'SFG' is a somnifacient disaster. It has an air of resigned failure akin to that of a one-legged cricket in a field full of crows. The Amazon night vista is despairingly star-less for this one, that's why I really wanted to like it - blow a contrary wind and all that, but not even in a satirical sense could you award this desperation anything other than one appalling star. And that's the worst name for a pop group since Heloise and the Savoir Faire.

...oh come now...this is just being silly...
...now I know I know...living in the UK doesn't give me any right on deciding whether this is good or not...but this is entirely my opinion... ...I heard one song from this band entirely through coincidence and unlike some shallow minded music lovers who like artistic and spontaneous noise and listen to nothing but that...I found it reasonably acceptable...I do listen to simple music if the hook is interesting enough and I feel there is enough variety on the plate...the singer has a high voice and the guitars were reasonably atmospheric (for the genre...but I won't bring other genres into this)... ...however; I then realised after listening to the next two singles (and later on a sampled version of the album from a certain site that I won't advertise) that every song sounds the same...the recurring theme is that they seem to be "Scouting for girls" (surprise surprise) and every single song is about how great the girl he's found is there...but of course once one track ends and they move onto the next track he has found a new girl that he is completely in love with and no girl will ever make him feel the same yada yada... ...and yes the choruses at times are somewhat catchy but once enough of the choruses have been shoved down your throat you are at gagging point because it's too much to bare...they can't write a song that isn't reliant on a massive chorus and therefore if the chorus fails the rest of the song seems very pointless... ...this album has two formulas for stucture and theme they are: 1. Structure: Verses small, Choruses explode (failure ratio 2:3) 2. Theme: The I'm in love with a girl formula which has had some interesting twists on it varying through emo all the way to some metal, prog, electronica, new romantic...in fact...every genre...(failure ratio 5:7) ...and to clear up any discrepancies of what the genre is...it is certainly NOT indie...and it's Britpop...since when did having an English accent during singing make you indie? ...this is recommended to people who enjoy this sort of music...if you already listen to music with catchy hooks or choruses then by all means buy it...but you may need a large attention span if you wish to listen to the same atmosphere and theme over and over again...to each their own however...

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS PUTS OUT GREAT POP WITH CATCHY HOOKS!!!
I first heard "Elvis Ain't Dead" on a Virgin Radio stream and immediately felt the need to own it. The vocals are engaging, the sentiments are wonderful and the hook is unbelievably perfect. I wound up buying the single, and then the single of "She's So Lovely" and the single of "It's Not About You". I did NOT buy the complete cd initially because it was way more expensive than it is now...but when I saw the price of the followup single "Heartbeat" I decided to fork out the big bucks and put all of my eggs in one basket. The result is one of the most satisfying musical experiences I've had in a decade. Scouting For Girls are very British and very upbeat. They have some noun/tense problems in their lyrics that drive me mad (e.g.: "she's so extraordinary/she left last January/and that's the reason I miss you so"), but apart from that they have the most amazing hooks which get me up and positive and singing on the top of my lungs. In my car and in my house I find myself singing "Heartbeat" more than any other song...what a breath of fresh air these guys are...I can hardly wait for them to release something else. IF you are afraid to take a chance on bands you don't know much about this is the one to relax and get your feet wet with...RUN to to the end of the diving board and jump off without a care in the world. I promise you that you will have a smile on your face from the moment this cd hits the deck.

Very Nice
This album is really nice, To make it clear for the American audience it would be kind of a mixture between Ben Folds and the Gin Blossoms on their own Indie style. Most songs are really happy and optimistic and releases a very nice vibe with every chord. Compositions are very nice and well arranged. For the audiophiles, you will really enjoy the mixing and mastering in this album cause everything sounds right in place. This album has been doing great in the U.K. and its considered among the best albums of 2007. My girlfriend recommend me this album since she is English and she was totally right. If you want something easy to listen, contemporary and very interesting don't miss this one. You will be very pleased. My favorite songs are: Keep on Walking The airplane song I need a holiday Heartbeat She is so lovely Other recommended albums from the best U.K. Releases lately: The hoosiers "the trick to life" The Pigeon Detectives "Wait for me"

You're So Lovely
I've only heard the one song and it is a lot of fun. It made me come here to research it, so that's telling! I'm curious about the other songs. I would like to see them sampled here so I could get a sense of the band before spending my $$.