Review: The Braces - "I'm Telling Everyone"
The Braces have changed it up significantly since their 2007 self-released LP Yeah Right!. Nearly gone are the angsty vocals, the sloppy poppiness and the amateur lyrics of the past, replaced with a cleaner, more accessible sound. There are benefits and disadvantages of the changes, which don't appear to affect the net enjoyment one way or another. Though the welcome absence of goofy, immature cuts like “Dr. Phil” is appreciated, the band’s more serious and emotionally-laden numbers like “Confidence,” “Flood" and "I Love You, But" are inversely out of place, even while occasionally packing some hooks. The best tracks on I’m Telling Everyone are those that balance the playful with the sincere, like the two-minute “Jumping” and album opener “I’d Rather Be Hot,” a declaration of why California’s so great despite its myriad flaws if only for the climate. I probably would have made the same argument some time ago, but two winters in Minnesota have proven that four seasons...