The Chap

Well Done Europe (Lo)

By Jobana Soto
Published: July 10th, 2010 | 1:00pm

Like lumberjack hipsters desperate to show off their irony by living in the city, the Chap is more concerned with image than musical talent. Their press shots are so outlandish it’s difficult to take them seriously.

Superficiality aside, the group’s best efforts are on the first three tracks of Well Done Europe. “We’ll See to Your Breakdown” carries a bit of truth about the music industry’s harsh reality with lyrics like “You will never have a job / You will never have lunch in this town again / We‘ll see to that ‘cause we hate you” paired with strings and electric keyboard melodies.

The cheery drum beats and gentle ska riffs in “Even Your Friend” produce an enjoyable harmony that will have you dancing in the summertime, and the group shows off some lyrical wit in the third track, “We Work in Bars,” a story depicting the quirky reality of musicians and their side jobs.

Then we hit an iceberg. The rest of the album descends into formulaic hipster pop with awkward, whiny vocals, pop riffs and beats, and long melodic choruses. There’s no denying the band’s instrumental talents, and in that realm, there’s a lot of diversity, but their level of originality in using them is totally underwhelming.

It seems like the band may be clued in to their effect on listeners. By the chorus of the sixth track, “Obviously,” they seem to ask the question their label might be wondering in a few years: “Is anybody still out there?” No, I don’t think so.

The Chap official Web site

The Chap MySpace page

Lo Recordings