Cute Is What We Aim For - Rotation (2008)

In the two years since their debut album, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch, Cute Is What We Aim For have had time to take stock of their strengths and weaknesses, capitalizing on the former and improving upon or discarding the latter as necessary. There's some evidence on Rotation that the group has actually employed such introspection -- if only for a few minutes -- but hasn't learned much from the experience. The most noticeable change on Cute Is What We Aim For's sophomore album is a slick, slightly more mature sound that employs more than the standard bass-guitar-drums-vocals lineup. A horn section shows up a number of times, synthesizers add depth, and producer John Feldmann smoothes out any potential rough edges with a healthy dose of studio gloss. The problem is that it's not the musicianship that is in need of repair, but the lyrics. Dressing up a band with backing musicians and production polish can't hide its flaws, especially when those flaws are front and center. At best, Shaant Hacikyan's words are merely ineffective, as in the ostensibly empowering "Do What You Do," which for all its bluster delivers nothing outside generic encouragement and a bland, "be yourself!" sentiment. There are worse transgressions throughout the album, like "Navigate Me," a song that was probably conceptualized as a passionate romp through the sheets but instead comes off as a bit creepy. (There's something about the repeated line "These sheets aren't stopping me" that doesn't inspire thoughts of romance.) There's also the bizarre "Hollywood," which pays homage to an apparent fantasyland where the West Coast film hub was without scandal, conflict, superficiality, or strife. (It was also a time "when singers wrote songs instead of hooks," begging the question as to why Cute Is What We Aim For didn't try this themselves.) It's an earnest effort, like all of the songs on Rotation, but those with even a basic knowledge of Hollywood history won't be able to resist rolling their eyes. There are plenty of other examples that hint at the endemic shallowness of the album, but there's no need to cite them all to confidently assert that Rotation is shiny but ultimately unfulfilling fluff.