Shock Stars - Feel For A Heartbeat

Artist:	Shock Stars
Album:	Feel For A Heartbeat
Release Date:	October 23, 2007
Label:	None
Rating:	2/5

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After the news of an "indefinite hiatus" from my all time favorite band, Lucky Boys Confusion, two bands were spawned. One being a powerpop band by the name of American Taxi and the other a pop/dance/techno group called Shock Stars. So far, both have released an ep (this is actually the second from SS), but not a full length yet.

Now the question that I have about this EP is why? I don't understand releasing two EPs in one year. Why did they not release a full length??? By the way, this already has 8 tracks, why not throw in 2 more???

The other question that I have is, who is am I gay for liking this? I was driving in my car with my mom, and she made a comment that this is very reminiscent of the Backstreet Boys. After much thinking, I realized that this sound is very much akin to the music all of us made fun of a decade ago. I became no longer comfortable driving my car with my windows down... Not to mention that the band's picture on the back of the album is to say the least, interesting.

Now don't get me wrong. The music here is very catchy, but then again, so were all of Backstreet Boys hits. At first, the album was kind of bland, but ifT you listen to it again and again, you notice your head bobbing and your foot tapping. Next thing you know, you're dancing alone in your room. The main problem that I have with this album (and the band) is that I don't see any real staying power. This album doesn't break any new ground (except for making guys want to dance). Many artists in the scene have tried to dance route before: Glassjaw to Head Automatica and AFI to Blaqk Audio, both of which I feel fared better. This does help to introduce non techno/dance fans to the scene, but this LBC fan wants his pop/ska/reggae/punk/hip-hop back...

Track Listing

1. The Heart Attack (Intro)
2. EMT
3. Butterfly
4. Fast Fast
5. Dancing On Thin Ice
6. I Got A Feeling
7. Biggest Mistake
8. Baby Baby