With so many bands infiltrating the music scene these days, it’s difficult to find one that stands out. A band that can sidestep the current emo/punk trend with an original sound is usually a winner on my list, which was why I held high hopes for Bumpus – a Chicago-based funk band known for incorporating high-energy drums and bass with gospel lyrics.
After listening to a pre-release of their new album “All the People,” I would have rather wasted my time jamming out to Fall Out Boy and subsequently feeling depressed about life.
The first track, “Something’s Got to Give,” starts the album out with a jazzy, danceable beat wrapped around a strong political message about the state of our country – “If they start up the draft/would you change your tune?” Considering this is the one of the only songs that can be downloaded off the new album from their Web site, this is the one they expect to be a big hit.
After listening to the rest of the album, I can see why they’re banking their hopes on it. It all goes downhill after track one, my friends.
The beat of track two, “All the People,” sounds exactly like the previous one. If I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t have known it was a different song. The lyrics here also convey a positive message – “When was the last time/you did anything for the first time?” which brings up an interesting point, but two sappy songs in a row is my limit.
At this point in a CD, I need some bitterness or unrequited love to keep me listening. Bumpus almost got there with “Yeah You,” but they spun it into a “you don’t love me, but I am going to stick around until you do because I have the patience of a saint” song, which is totally unrealistic. When someone you love doesn’t love you back, you do not think optimistically to the tune of what sounds like a rejected Doobie Brothers song.
My attention wasn’t piqued until track five – “The Reason”- the same jazzy tune that they can’t seem to get away from, but with a new approach that makes the song stand alone. “The Reason” was my favorite on this album, and one that I hope to hear on the radio someday.
But one can only stand so much gooey lyrics matched with funky elevator music. I skipped ahead to “Underneath the Sun,” track eight, and was instantly disgusted by how much it resembled bad gospel karaoke. No thanks.
By the time track 10 came around, I called it quits on the whole album. The song’s parallel to the lazy beat of a seedy ’70s porno was too much, and with only 12 total tracks (including the bonus one at the end) there was no way it could redeem itself enough for me to keep listening.
Bumpus will perform at Upfront and Company Friday, April 20 and and Saturday, April 21 at 9 p.m. to celebrate the release of “All the People.” If you like to swing your hips and not really pay attention to what you’re listening to, this band will do it for you. But if lyrics and variety are what you really want, I’d jump on someone else’s bandwagon.
