Alien Crime Syndicate

XL From Coast to Coast (The Control Group)
by Scott Hefflon

I forget what it was that I liked about The Meices (the band this “rose from the ashes of,” or whatever cliché we usually use in such cases), and Alien Crime Syndicate doesn’t remind me. The bio calls this loop-laden space pop with strong harmonies and crunchy guitars and references Weezer and American Hi-Fi and Harvey Danger, but they fail to mention that I’d chew through my own arm to get away if shackled in a room with this on repeat.

The opener, “Ozzy,” fails where Nerf Herder’s “Van Halen” succeeded, and for all the pleasant recording gimmicks, the singer’s voice makes Perry Ferrell sound quite listenable (reminds me of cats in heat yowling). Life’s too short to spend time criticizing this.
(www.theacs.com)