Lustra

What You Need & What You Get
by Scott Hefflon

Boston band, moved to L.A., best known for their song “Scotty Doesn’t Know,” lip-synched by Matt Damon during the closing of Eurotrip. A fun, peppy alt.pop tune, no doubt, and it’s included here as a Second Coming version. Most of the tunes here wish they were that good, but with very direct lyrics (lemme guess, this is the homesick song about Boston called “It’s a Shame About Boston,” and this one’s making fun of dudes who wear make-up cuz it’s called “Kids in Makeup”), they’re bound to hit their mark, or hit it, yet no one cares. Then again, if Plain White T’s and Hinder can write such awful lyrics and not get their dumb asses kicked at the end of every show, perhaps there are just an awful lot of stupid people in the world who don’t demand much from their lyricists. Me? For the genre, I think All-American Rejects write simple, beautiful tunes that move you, and American Hi-Fi before them had the same knack. Boston has a long history of quality power pop bands, most of whom never made it big, and while some might wring their hands, perhaps there’s a reason for it. Absolutely nothing at all wrong with Lustra peaking with “Scotty Doesn’t Know,” cuz it’s one of those accidental brushes with perfection, which is more than most bands can hope for.
(www.myspace.com/lustra)