The Question Is: Do You Remember Breakfast At Tiffany's?
Written: Jul 17 '03
Product Rating:
Pros: Appealing, unchallenging music...
Cons: Could have better lyrics, some more variance, and not be quite so "blah."
The Bottom Line: There's a bit more to Deep Blue Something than hit single Breakfast At Tiffany's would lead you to believe...not much more, but enough...
lambchops's Full Review: Home by Deep Blue Something
What do you get when you blend a few American twenty-somethings with culture and art? Deep Blue Something of course. Not to say that you’re expected by any means to know who this band is, but you probably remember the uber-catchy top-ten single Breakfast At Tiffany’s from 1995 and 1996.
Going into an album like this it is hard to imagine what to expect. Breakfast At Tiffany’s is a lovely offering. It’s chipper, sweet, and references popular culture—three things that could prove overwhelmingly annoying but in this case are endearing. I expected a similarly themed album, but the band’s second album Home proved me very, very wrong. I am in the end enough impressed by their sophomore effort to recommend it to fans of mature pop (I refuse to call it the dreaded “adult contemporary”).
Deep Blue Something came to be fleetingly famous from University of North Texas in Denton. So it’s not a mecca for great music, what’s your point? Brothers Todd Pipes (vocals, bass) and Toby Pipes (guitar, vocals) in addition to Kirk Tatom (guitar), and John Kirtland (drums) comprise the lineup that formed in 1993. After losing Tatom and releasing Home independently, the band was picked up by major label Interscope. The rest, as they say, is history.
Home has been the band’s only brush with mainstream success. Heck, it’s the only even moderately widespread release from Deep Blue Something. Is this a knock to the band? No, but I think it is also reflective of the general consensus that good music and good money go hand in hand. Nothing, as most critics of popular music should know, is further from the truth. Independent, alternative, and underground acts are often much better than anything released to MTV and radio.
Anyway, this isn’t to say that Deep Blue Something is one of these kinds of bands, but their debut album is better than their one-hit-wonder status would have you believe. As I previously mentioned, the band’s short lived claim to fame was the hip, catchy, kitschy, acoustic song Breakfast At Tiffany’s. A song of falling love, and a mere film that’s kept the couple together, it resonates nicely. Factor in the catchy lyrics and melody, and it was clear from the start that Breakfast At Tiffany’s was a surefire hit. Still don’t remember it? Let me jog your memory a bit:
And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's? "
She said, "I think I remember the film
And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it."
And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we got."
With that song as a guide, this album should have been chock full of effervescent pop. It certainly is effervescent, but instead it leans more heavily on rock, folk, and occasionally blues. And in all, it does work. While the album may not be the best thing out there, I can think of a lot of things that are more mediocre or downright embarrassing.
Home begins strongly with the entirely instrumental yet wholly rousing track Gammer Gerten's Needle. While I am almost never a fan of instrumental songs, I think this 3-minute offering works as a lovely introduction and primer to the album that is to follow. Of course, that one song is there, but there’s much more to munch on. The songs, of which nine are written by brother Todd and the other three by Toby, are overall pretty scrumptious. Halo is a remarkable, light, melodic Brit-pop song. Strange that considering the band is from Texas. Todd’s vocals are rich and textured, and the song itself is incredible. I am particularly fond of Deep Blue Something’s use of acoustic, understated instruments rather than overwhelmingly dark and electronic elements.
Other songs are just as impressive. Equally chipper offerings including A Water Prayer, The Kandinsky Prince, and I Can Wait are rather entertaining. A Water Prayer, is much more adventurous than the other songs here. It is a conscious blend between Rusted Root and Brit-pop (as strange as that sounds). It works nicely.
But fortunately for Deep Blue Something, they possess(ed) an ability to put together a lovely softer selection on occasion. Josey certainly qualifies with the delicately strummed guitar paired with creatively used bass guitar makes for amazing listening. Not just that, but I have to offer props to Todd Pipes for a particularly entertaining performance. Other track of this kind is Home, though that one showcases one of the band’s greatest weaknesses. If they can’t write something lucid, they just pretend it is and make it catchy.
As much as I appreciate the band, I cannot appreciate all of their songs. Done, A Song To Make Love To, and Red Light just don’t do much for me. Sometimes the pace seems forced and rushed while other times the lyrics just rub me wrong. It is because of songs like these that I’m slightly put off by the band. As talented as they could have been, I don’t think the world will ever take any more notice than they already have.
Home is slightly better than average fare. It has some weaknesses, but is overall fine enough especially for fans of “mature pop” as I’ll call it. Recommended, but not necessarily endorsed this sophomore release from Deep Blue Something is worth checking out—especially if found in the bargain bin.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Gammer Gerten's Needle
02. Breakfast At Tiffany's
03. Halo
04. Josey
05. A Water Prayer
06. Done
07. A Song To Make Love To
08. The Kandinsky Prince
09. Home
10. Red Light
11. I Can Wait
12. Wouldn't Change A Thing
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