Cheap Time, Fantastic Explanations (and Similar Situations)

Cheap Time , Fantastic Explanations (and Similar Situations) [In The Red]

By Jason Diamond » Cheap Time puts me in an awkward position. In theory, I should really like them. They have the earmarks of what used to cut the mustard. But the weak arrival of their second LP for In the Red leaves me seriously unimpressed and underwhelmed; throwing my hands at this point.

The Memphis band's ability to craft snotty, glitter-affected anthems has been evident since the early singles, but I can’t get more into it because the guys sound too much like what I’d imagine has to be called post-Oblivians/post-Exploding Hearts.

My first thoughts on Fantastic Explanations (and Similar Situations) are the same ones I had the last time I listened to the band: save for the requisite shoddy production, they end up sounding like all the other Anglo bands of the last decade like The Libertines or The Fratellis. If lead singer/backbone of the band, Jeffrey Novak, hadn’t enthusiastically spent most of his life shmoozing around Memphis, I doubt anyone would really care that much about the band at all.

I can’t really fault Cheap Time for trying. They make the music they love, but in the end, they're just playing a style we've heard too many times before. But maybe I'm not the best judge, because I’ve heard all this before.

Posted on October 26, 2010