"Nature is always stronger than principle," could very roughly be translated to, "Fuck it-- fun is fun, mindless or otherwise, so gimme back my Guided by Voices pogs." Now, David Hume was an intelligent man, but does that really claim have anything to do with music? Well, maybe a little (though he might not have intended it to), since it pretty much sums up the entire justification for all things pop since Haydn's final symphony, "Girls are Neat, in D Minor." It has spawned the often dreadful 'mindless fun' defense, going to win innumerable precedents in the court of public opinion. Certainly, some of the records defended by this argument are triumphs, but for every Daft Punk, there's an O.J.-style travesty like I Get Wet that's just waiting to trot out the same brainless defense. So, Dave, mindless fun may be all well and good, like underage drinking (hilarious), but it can get out of hand, like being arrested for Heroin possession (still funny, but only if it's not me). When that time comes, in the equally classic words of Abe Lincoln, "the hammer's gotta come down."
Oh, hey, Arlo! I was just talking about you. Stab the Unstoppable Hero, the second outing from this L.A. four-piece, is numbingly catchy, and with lyrics like, "Are you made of salt?/ Or are you sour?/ Do you fall apart/ In the shower?," no one's going to nominate a song like "Little American" for the new Mensa theme. Yeah, Arlo's newest chunky, garage-style mess has the nature of pure power-pop and the hooks to ensure that no brain cells get out alive. Often, it can play almost as well as Weezer, or, more commonly, Walt Mink, but... goddammit, here's where the principles have to come in.
Did I say like Mink or the Weez? Yep. Arlo reads right off their script-- and the script of every other garage-pop act in the last decade, for that matter-- they're just not quite up to the part. For roughly 75% of this album, Arlo is content to show off its best impression of much better bands, and, to be fair, it can be a fairly slick impersonation. I mean, Riv Cuomo hasn't penned a song as innocent or apparently effortless as "Too Sick to Tango" or "Linger On" in two albums, and yet, somehow Stab still isn't any fun. The problem is, where this album ought to have the sweet consistency of bubblegum there's nothing but the acidic taste of blatant, heavy-handed derivation.
"Working Title" could blend in seamlessly with any of the outtakes from the Miss Happiness sessions-- there's not an ounce of invention in it. Likewise, the streamlined guitar fuzz and soaring harmonies of "Temperature" are easy on the ears, but even that was done a hell of a lot better on El Producto. So why bother? It's a question of craftsmanship versus straight sonics, and the fine line between influence and rip-off is crossed here throughout. Hell, the White Stripes haven't played a single glorious note that hasn't been found elsewhere, but no one could sensibly accuse them of shoplifting from influences like Zep and, you know, all blues ever written. I'm not saying that of Arlo, either, but they'd have a much harder time clearing themselves if that was the charge.
Let me be direct: when Arlo are wearing their masks, they may sound derivative, but at least they sound pretty good; they're taking cues from some great acts, after all. And as much of a difficulty as it is, it's better than the alternative. Sadly, for about a quarter of this farce, Arlo sounds like plain old Arlo, and I'll tell you, that's a prospect that won't be well-received. The most original shots they've got in them are muddy barrages that lean more towards grunge sludge ("Runaround") or limp-wristed alt-country ("Up"), songs notable only for their absolute nondescriptness and predictability. Stab the Unstoppable Hero even contains the single most obvious "we're rocking so hard that we can't even play the music properly" outro in recent memory. Though, to their credit, at least it sounds like they wrote it.
This album is just one more round in the inevitable victory of nature over principles-- it's not easy to resist some of the more entertaining pop kernels lingering on Stab the Unstoppable Hero. Which is a real shame. Hume might not have known what he was excusing, but that doesn't mean that this sort of pap can slide. These songs were written on tracing paper, leading to some amazingly troubling pop. Oh, and I guess since 'troubling pop' isn't a phrase that's likely to see much use, Arlo might be notable for that, too.
