Id Life Crisis

In New York, local bands have been too busy making music for a scene rather than making music people want to listen to for more than a fleeting moment in history. It is a bleak indictment of our city's tastemakers when the huge majority of musicians owe more to Metal Machine Music than to the Boss' catalogue. With that in mind, First Confection, the excellent first studio album by Id Life Crisis, is refreshing breath of air. Recorded at James Iha and Adam Schlesigner's Stratosphere Studios on the west side of Manhattan, the album captures the polished songwriting and catchy on the nose humor of the latter's band, Fountains of Wayne. First Confection is 33 minutes of perfectly crafted pop joy that makes listeners want take off their shoes and go crazy on the dance floor. Id Life Crisis' five members rotate on vocals and instrumentation keeping the listener on his or her toes for the duration of the album. The project's lead singer Lambert Jack, the nom de guerre of the primary songwriter B. Payne, shines on "Wake Up Natalie," an upbeat entreaty for a comatose girl to awaken. Its catchy chorus and memorable verses serve as a fantastic juxtaposition to its subject matter. Other stand out songs include the sultry "I Want a Bad Man" and the anthemic "Let's Get Drunk." First Confection exudes both sincerity and humor on each track, many of which could fit in as easily among the songs of Stephen Lynch and Tenacious D as they do among Top 40 radio hits. First Confection is a wonderful first album and you should expect many more great things to come from these talented musicians. - Is This It? Music Reviews