Reviewed by Kelly Hoben
Released: 1980 True Confessions True Confessions Genre: New Wave Pop Rating: 1.2 out of 5 The drums (Terry McCubben), bass (Mark Fournier), guitar (Glen Binmore and Julia Bourque), and keyboard (Blanche Rube) are ok. Nothing ground-breaking here, but the rhythm is tight, and a few guitar riffs provide some pleasant melodies despite several awkward key changes. The vocals (Glen, Julia, and Blanche), however, are weak - and at times, grating - and I wish they would stop. If someone were communicating the contents of this album’s lyrics to me in a conversation, I would excuse myself and avoid these people. It’s like “Grease” set to the sounds of 1980, with the same limited gender roles, lack of self-awareness, and misguided social landscape. When “I love you” is part of a refrain, you have to wonder how much time went into song writing. There are too many references to meeting romantic partners in the alleyway. It’s gross, and it makes me nervous. “7/11 Heaven” tracks a clique of girls as they follow boys in cars to shoot some meaningful glances across the intersection then tag along into a literal 7/11 to watch the boys buy cigarettes. Watch them. That’s all. The male voice praises the one girl who is busy with actual hobbies involving her tape recorder and her Nikon - “Modern Girl, you’re a real education / I see you’re smarter than a library,” except I think he actually says “liBERRY,” but I am not going to confirm it by listening to this drivel again, so I’m not sure. In “Smokey’s Gonna Dance Tonight,” the female voice is like, “His shoes are sharp / His moves are right / Dance card full every night.” Ugh. The 1980 instrumentation adds no value to this romanticization of the 1950’s ethos. In short, I hate the world that True Confessions has reiterated here. The music is not strong enough to compensate for the inane lyrics. This album has appropriately been buried.
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