From Daily Utah Online
New Radicals
Maybe You've Been
Brainwashed Too
[MCA Records]
Gregg Alexander, lead man and sole regular member of The New Radicals, is a hypocritical egomaniac and the most precocious newcomer to hit the charts since LeAnn Rimes. He criticizes numerous bands in the hit single "You Get What You Give" for selling out, singing "Fashion mag shoots with Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson/You're all fakes, run to your mansions/Come around and we'll kick your asses." Yet, for someone who is so disdainful of images, it's ironic Alexander's face is plastered all over his CD cover and the liner notes, constantly reminding you he is one hot heartthrob and a Seventeen cover shoot waiting to happen.
Lost in the buzz that Alexander will be the next sure hit for the 1215 female demographic is that his 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' is a generally impressive debut that doesn't rely on the generic pop melodies that have made newer acts such as Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind rich. 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' isn't a great album, but hell, do you think the record executives at MCA really care? They just need one decent song so they can cut a video in order to compete with The Backstreet Boys.
Alexander grew up in Detroit, and the R&B that put the Motor City on the musical map has seeped into 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too'. The album, which was produced by none other than Gregg Alexander, is chock-full of jazzy piano hooks and fluttering vocal arrangements. There are also plenty of distorted electric guitars and meaty drums to placate the alt-rock set.
However, the main problem with 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' (and The New Radicals for that matter) is that Alexander's vocals come off like Billy Corgan trying to sing a Boyz II Men tune. Tracks like 'I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away the Ending' and 'Jehovah Made This Whole Joint for You' are case studies in auditory patience, and most of the rest are fairly forgettable forays into territory that has already been explored and exploited by Lenny Kravitz and Jamiroquai.
The semigloss highlights of the album include 'You Get What You Give', which has already been overplayed to death by nearly every radio station with a license, and 'I Don't Wanna Die Anymore', an emotional and surprisingly sincere piano-driven tune about trying to kick drug addiction.
But most of the tracks comprising 'Maybe..' are just slightly tweaked rehashes of old material. 'Gotta Stay High', yet another song about Alexander's favorite topic, sounds fine (meaning Alexander's voice doesn't grate your cerebrum) but is just too close to sounding like Journey to make it memorable. Ditto for the title track, which sounds like Frank Black and the rest of The Pixies are making a guest appearance, which would not necessarily be a bad thing but doesn't say much for The New Radicals.
'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' never lives up to the ivory-tower ideals Alexander sings about, such as not giving up, because after the first listen, you are ready to give it up and move on to something a little more inspiring and original. 'Maybe..' does wear on you after awhile, and you do forget about the myriad imperfections that arise upon the first listen, but it might be asking too much for such a fickle listening audience to give it repeated listens. But what all 'Maybe..' really boils down to is that if the executives at MCA can't get you to listen, they'll make damn sure you see Alexander's face when you're in line at the supermarket or flipping through the channels.
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