Rating: N
When, if not summer, are you allowed to shamelessly enjoy the Auto-Tuned pubescent vocals and recycled melodies of fan-girl radio pop? So I settled into Cody Simpson’s sophomore album, hoping it might contain some maturing pop nuggets such as Justin Bieber boasted on his second effort.
In case you forgot this was a summer album, opening track La Da Dee starts with cloying ukulele and contains the lyrics “La da dee, La la da do, there’s only me, there’s only you.”
The rest of the record is just as lyrically comical, plus there are whistling intros, chants of “na, na, na,” a rap interlude on Imma Be Cool by maybe the least cool rapper alive (Asher Roth) and a guest appearance by Ziggy Marley. (Oh, Ziggy… why?) Not a single tune isn’t completely regurgitated post-90s pop, nor does Simpson display an iota of personality. He could really use a Hit-Boy or a Diplo. Or, dare I say, a scandal.
Top track: Sinkin’ In
