Prozzäk Cruel, Cruel World

[Maple Music; 2005]

Rating: 2.5/5

Styles:  dance/pop
Others: The Gorillaz, I Mother Earth, The Philosopher Kings, Cake, The Cars

Think back. Think way back. Remember a neck-less cartoon duo consisting of an über-buff guitar slinger and his lovelorn Canadian chum with an unexplained English accent who endlessly searched the world for a decent relationship while thinking it "Sucks To Be You"? Sure, you do. Well, after a five-year hiatus, Prozzäk have returned to try to resurrect their audience or, if necessary, to build a new one. In this effort, they've brought in a few changes. The most obvious would be the complete redesign of the romantic, antidepressant characters Simon and Milo, under which former Philosopher Kings Jason Levine and James McCollum produce a move that predates The Gorillaz's cartoon shenanigans. The duo has toned down the flash animation/cartoony style for a more '90s look. Gone is the anime charm and floating heads in lieu of accurately sombre expression and necks... honest to Gawd, necks.

But aside from the ambiance shift due to the image update, the music is unlike anything heard in their first two albums, with the possible exception of Hot Show's "New York." I was stunned to hear album opener "When I Think Of You" kicking off the comeback campaign in Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" fashion, and a decent Cake run at that. Then track two sorta happys it up a notch while backing up the notion of Prozzäk as a real band. Nothing really stands out from the rest except that, while still very pop-sounding, the innocent fun and guilty pleasure of their 1998 four-times-platinum-selling Hot Show, and to a lesser extent the follow-up Saturday People, is just not there. Part of the appeal of their debut was that, more than anything else, it had a strong lyrical focus on characters and stories. While the lead singles from HS may have been "Sucks To Be You" and "Strange Disease," the rest of the album focused on specific, exotically-named women, each an exemplary tale of love won and lost, conquest and failure, like a cleaner Much Music interpretation of High Fidelity. Beginning with Saturday People and continuing with Cruel, Cruel World are batches of pristine pop arrangements accompanied by intentionally 'universal' lyrics, sacrificing uniqueness for some form of banal empathy. Regardless, this album is way more listenable than anything that has been or will ever be released by Fefe Dobson, whose career was started by these kings. I can't say I'm really surprised by any of it.

1. When I Think Of You
2. Tricky
3. How Beautiful
4. Just Friends
5. Starting Over
6. Don't Love Me That Way
7. Sweeping Romance
8. Clothes We Wear
9. It's Not So Bad
10. If You're Ready
11. Cruel Cruel World
12. I Want To Be Loved