Rooney — Calling The World

If I'm going to give Rooney credit for anything, it's their incorporation of the word "coccyx" into the song "Paralysed" — a difficult and somewhat impressive feat of lyricism. But the credit stops there. This L.A.-based outfit's second album sounds uninspired and recycled, echoing retro Billy Idol (quite literally, as "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" had me convinced it was a "Flesh For Fantasy" cover) and post-Pinkerton Weezer, especially on "Tell Me Soon" and "Believe In Me." These floppy-haired O.C. darlings attempt to inject some rock 'n' roll into a handful of songs, but those tracks unfortunately end up as the laughing stock of the album. On "Don't Come Around Again" the band warn, "I'm a bad man when it comes to girls like you/Yeah, I'm a bad man/And there's nothing you can do." I mean, come on, guys.

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