Pleasure Club - The Fugitive Kind

One of the keys to a good album is balance. You can’t have too many songs that sound alike, but you can’t have songs so varied that they don’t gel. Too many slow songs can make an album boring, but too many fast ones can make it annoying. A good mix of songs gives an album character and depth. Pleasure Club’s latest effort, The Fugitive Kind, executes balance well but lacks the certain intangibles that would take it to the highest level. The first really noteworthy song is the Mick Jagger-eaque “High Five Hit Me,” a catchy funk rock track that will definitely get the toes tapping. The guitars of “Streetwalkers Anthem” verge on Nine Inch Nails territory at times, leading into the heart of the album. The mid-section is filled with tunes flowing into a groove that is pleasurable but not spectacular. “This Is Living” opens with a riff sounding a little familiar to a Pearl Jam fan, and the style does feel like homage to the band. “Seduction” sounds like a hit from The Hives, with its attitude and guitar, building up to the slowed down and introspective “You Want Love” (musically sounding inspired by the classic “Something I Can Never Have”). Lastly, “Revolution In Red” ends the album very admirably and is a nice continuance of its lead-in, mellowing the album out at its end. Overall, this album is diverse enough to make it keep your interest but ultimately not unique enough to grab big attention. Drawing from many different inspirations has made this an album that defines pigeonholing. It is a fun rock record that works well in the confines of itself, and the breadth of the styles the tracks touch give it at least a few marks for guts and skill. What’s missing is the intangible quality that just makes you fall in love with some albums, while you simply admire others. And that is the ultimate fate of the disc. It’s good, and worth a spin, but just lacks that special quality to make it great. [www.pleasureclubmusic.com]