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The Rice Thresher
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If the Eels sometimes sound like Beck lite, then Math and Science is Beck extra lite. John Wolf is the Indiana-raised musician who now lives in Los Angeles and records under the name of his two worst subjects in school, using multi-tracking and programming -˙often to distraction -˙to craft upbeat pop melodies. Some of the random sound effects and slick programming make Math and Science's self-titled album feel overproduced, especially because Wolf's vocal melodies are so light and winsome. The songs also suffer from some trite lyrics that veer toward the sappy, like the childish "I love this girl/and she loves me/Everybody knows/everyone can see" in "Eternity," a song about how the narrator's relationship with his girlfriend is strong and uplifting and stuff. Then again, the simplistic lyrics sometimes work. "How could anyone ever change/over a night like a dozen times?" Wolf asks in the opening song, "Disguise." The pop is hooky in this and other tracks like "Words," in which Wolf's schoolboyish voice wavers in just the right places. And he occasionally cranks out a genuine original lyric, like "Don't want our life to be like an assembly line" in "Forget About Here." Too bad his melodies, even when they're not trite singer/songwriter fare, are usually bogged down by too many synthesized frills. It's an otherwise promising debut. Let's just hope Math and Science loses the Primitive Radio Gods-style production in the future. - Mariel Tam
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