Re-Voltaire – Cosmonot

Re- Voltaire acknowledges that the Knowville, TN trio is fighting a punk revolution that took place over twenty-five years ago, and that by today’s standards their sound is less than conventional.  They describe their style as lifting inspiration from the “angular rhythms of Wire or Richard Hell & the Voidoids,” which all things considered, sounds pretty promising.  Musically the album is initially every bit as jarring and disjointed as intended, but as soon becomes clear in their debut full length, Cosmonot, lyrics become a central stumbling block.

It’s as if the band can’t find anything else worth speaking about aside from the commercialization of the music industry.  And it’s not like there is anything that makes these rants terribly insightful.  They’re shallow, name-dropping lists that do little more than state the obvious.  “Popsicle” attempts to tear apart the mainstream music scene but just sounds whiny.  Vocalist Kylie Hatmaker opens the album with the line “turning on the radio puts me in misery, who the hell listens to the top 40s,” and self aggrandizing and somewhat snobby “where’s the punk where’s the punk, all I hear is junk!” – and when she starts name-dropping artists like Jay Z, The Pussy Cat Dolls, and other chart toppers, it’s as if they’re trying too hard to impress an audience with cheap shots and recognizable cultural references.  And it gets old – fast.

Track after track continues trying too hard, and it might not have been so detrimental if this “angular” style included more than exhaustive monologues and the occasional out of place chord choice (a lack of clear melody makes every song sound the same).  For instance “Sell Easy Girls” and “Undercover Girl” take shots at magazine fronting cover girls but just come across so explicit that they become grating after repeat listens (lines like “why kiss Mabeline, when you can maybe kiss me” are like nails on a chalkboard).  The more I listen to likeminded tracks like “Hocus Focus” and “Modest Mannequins” the less I want to keep listening.  Every track relies upon a wit that just isn’t there.

With too much talk and a backdrop that does little more than act as a cushion for obvious rants, Cosmonot suffers from repetition and overused ideas.  With such heavy reliance on pop culture references, there’s little more excitement after the initial novelty of recognizing a “Sex In The City” name drop wears off.  There’s something to be said about Re- Voltaire’s “angular” style, but it’s hidden well below a surface that is paradoxically as superficial as the themes they speak against.