Search - Air Miami :: World Cup Fever Ep

None

03/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am probably wasting my time with this review but since no one else has bothered to review it, I thought I might as well. It's unfortunate that I'm not all that familiar with singer Mark Robinson's earlier projects, bands Unrest (what I've heard I like) and Flin Flon, because I feel as if I'd have more grounding to critique these singles. Nonetheless, I have heard good things about Air Miami from friends whose opinions I respect. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed when I first heard this record. The original version of the song is catchy enough with rather high pitched fast guitars that sound fairly lush. But it is not *that* catchy - it seems like whatever Air Miami is doing here, other bands have done better, so in the end there is nothing that really makes this stand out. Mark Robinson has a good, smooth voice, but we don't get to hear it that much, only in the chorus which contains uninteresting lyrics that lack any special punch such as irony , cleverness, or humour. The best part is Robinson's snarling of the words '5-9, 4-0', which come out especially strongly in the MacCoughlin mix. The rest of his singing though is ponderous and the remainder of the song is mostly a series of high-pitched whines and squeals, puncuated by what sounds to be a tape loop of drums and staticky percussion. Perhaps this is enjoyable to play but not so much fun to listen to? On the flip side, it can be fun (sort-of) to listen to this and the various mixes have grown on me the more I listen to them."