His Mischief The Perfect Lover

[Modern Radio; 2009]

Styles: millennial garage rock with a twist of post-grunge
Others: The White Stripes, Crystal Antlers, The Vines, The Lemonheads

In a musical milieu where the hip thing is to sing like you'd rather be updating your Facebook than fronting a rock band, it's almost refreshing to hear a singer with a genuinely obnoxious voice. Sheridan Fox's strangled yelp sounds a little like Jack White, if White were chemically castrated and forced his every pronouncement through his nasal passage. I could almost give His Mischief points for trying if the music wasn't such a textbook example of millennial garage rock.

Cycle through the 12 tracks that make up the band's full-length debut and you'll hear catchy hooks, fuzzed-out bass, jangly keys, wah-wah guitar… the band is competent but adds nothing original to a genre that's been strip-mined to depletion since The Strokes released Is This It? back in 2001. In fact, the only thing that sets His Mischief apart from their contemporaries (or predecessors) is, indeed, Fox's nails-on-a-chalkboard singing style.

At the risk of belaboring a point, the singing is really annoying on this album. It's a persistent problem throughout, but reaches a fever-pitch on select tracks. “Don't Bother” descends into a reggae breakdown toward its end that only accentuates the worst aspects of Fox's voice. An impressive debacle, but it barely holds a candle to “Veins,” where his constant wailing succeeds in clamping down on every nerve in the listener's spine.

In spite of it all, a couple of the songs do manage to stand out for the right reasons. “(All That for a) Limp Handshake” is served well by the ’60s vox keyboard that drifts to the forefront of the mix during instrumental lulls. It gives the song a pleasant summer lightness, and Fox manages to restrain his dentist-drill whine just enough to avoid overpowering the mix. “Towering Filth” benefits from being helmed by bassist Jeff Quinn, whose slacker delivery complements the song's Soul Asylum/Lemonheads ’90s alternative vibe. It's like a phantom transmission from another (probably much better) album altogether. Unfortunately, these moments of decency do little to offset the strident mediocrity of the album as a whole.

Fans of the garage rock revival may find something to enjoy in The Perfect Lover, assuming, of course, they can see past the singing. Listeners who value a dose of originality with their rock ’n’ roll, however, are not likely to walk away impressed.

1. Freaks up Front
2. Don't Bother
3. (All That for a) Limp Handshake
4. Let's Be Friends
5. Towering Filth
6. Roman Holiday
7. Veins
8. Trust or Love
9. Medieval Medicine
10. Sampson
11. The What
12. Show Me Around

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