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Reviews: Pushing Red Buttons ~ Foreign Film or Tango Dance?
Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 @ 10:08:42 PST
Topic: Reviews
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Artist: Pushing Red Buttons
CD: Foreign Film or Tango Dance?
Home: New York City
Style: Power Pop/Quirky Indie Rock
Quote: "Pushing Red Buttons sound like they stepped right out of the 70s with some influence of modern acts while still appealing to fans of contemporary music."
By Tiffany Razzano
It’s hard to exactly describe Foreign Film Or Tango Dance?, the third full-length album from New York City-based Pushing Red Buttons, because there are so many different sounds and influences. In fact, each song can be compared to a different artist, or even a handful of different artists at the same time, and still manages to come out with a power pop sound mixed with quirky indie rock that is intrinsically its own.
The first track, “Tripping Over a Four Leaf Clover,” is an excellent way to start off the album because it sums up the band's sound. It starts out sounding a bit like indie rock, with poppy Beatlesesque vocals. However the background of the chorus features a baritone backup vocalist that sounds almost as though he moonlights as a death metal singer. The song turns into a conglomerate of sound - a little bit metal/hair band, a little bit glam and a little bit power pop.
The band’s humor begins to show through on the second song, “Illusion Town.” Here, over their jangly power pop, the band uses witty yet insightful lyrics to make a cynical commentary on American life. This is followed by the jaunty rocker, “The Man Behind.” This tune is heavy on keyboards and harmonizing vocals. The guitar riffs seem to come straight from an 80s hair band, so that the listener can almost picture the guitarist, with teased 80s hair and in makeup, on his knees and playing the guitar with his teeth. “Yoyo” has a light metal feel to it and actually sounds like a lighter version of any Metallica song I’ve ever heard.
Up next is “Girls Gone Stupid,” the modern day answer to the Beach Boys. Both bands are playing and singing melodic pop songs about girls, the beach and the sun, but Pushing Red Buttons are a bit heavier on the electric guitars and portraying a wry wit rather than the staid lyrics of the Beach Boys. “Girls Gone Stupid” mocks the “Girls Gone Wild” videotapes and the girls who star in them as well as the “stupid boys” who watch them.
Several tracks also seem to be influenced by the operatic nature of Queen’s arena rock. One of these songs is “I’ll Tell.” It starts off slowly with strings, saxophone, keyboard and melodic vocals but eventually picks up with the full band and adds a beat that sounds like it was lifted from a Stray Cats tune. “Tad” also has an operatic feel to it and at times is reminiscent of The Who. More evidence of The Who's influence can be heard in “Boris the Spider.”
“Love Jihad,” the longest song on the album, is political and religious in nature, but rather than being overly cynical, it calls for the inclusion of all religions and races. At one point, the lead vocalist sings, “We don’t even need a God to celebrate a Love Jihad.” The band incorporates some Middle Eastern sounds into this tune to go with the lyrical content and give it a more authentic feel.
Citing a variety of influences, Pushing Red Buttons sound like they stepped right out of the 70s with some influence of modern acts while still appealing to fans of contemporary music.
http://www.pushingredbuttons.com
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