Hyperbubble – Candy Apple Daydreams – Review

hyperbubble200Hyperbubble

Candy Apple Daydreams (Bubblegum)
by Scott Hefflon

UK indie synth pop. Uh, need I say more? Male and female, cutesy, synthetic, and absolutely lives up to the album title. Like Bis and Ladytron and tons of band names I’d forgotten seconds after tossing the CD in the trash, this annoying and arrogant genre loves itself enough for whole continents of people like me who find it as appealing as a case of Pixie Stix in your mouth. While I like Devo and Blondie and Oingo Boingo and both versions of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” (and Thomas Dolby, but perhaps I’m admitting too much), those bands broke new ground, plus wrote great songs that transcended genre. This stuff IS genre-music, and 99% of it couldn’t stand on its own if you stripped away the kitch and “we’re so now!” lyrics. A few tunes stand out and I’d like them if they weren’t so irritating, like an otherwise good song that’s “too metal” for people who hate metal, or includes some dipshit rapping and ya hate rap, most of what’s represented here is genre-adhering music, not groundbreaking art or strong music that’ll outlive this unfortunate fad in music.
(www.bubblegumrecords.org.uk)