CD: The Broken West, "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On"

The Broken West's debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, is a sign of artists being trapped by culture. The opening of "Baby on My Arm" is pulled from Coldplay's "Yellow" (the whole track has a creeping ambiance that eventually engulfs the guitar) and "Hale Sunset" is filled with dub. The first half, including the bland "So It Goes" and the catchier "On The Bubble," is full of throwaway power-pop "hits" stuck in a tambourine-heavy past (grainy production values on "Down in the Valley" further age the track). Tracks like "Shiftee" and "Big City" show nice range and color; like the Beckett play they've ripped their title from, maybe they'll find a way to survive mediocrity.

[First posted to Silent Uproar, 3/5]