Sohcahtoa
BREAKING LACES
reviewed by compgeekgirl
5 out of 5 Stars
"God In Training", the first cut on Breaking Laces' Sohcahtoa, has a rockin' Nirvana-esque riff with hand clap beats. I haven't had this much fun dancing around my house in months. It's like an addiction. I have to wait for my husband to leave for work so he can't laugh at my white girl moves! This disc would earn a 3-star rating on the merits of that song even if the rest of it totally bit. Lucky, lucky, lucky me...the rest is just as enticing.
"Plain Jane", "Going Away" and "Meagan" are earnest and sweet, almost pure. Any girl with even an ounce of romance in her heart yearns for someone to feel for her the way they do for "Meagan". With sweetly somber piano and cello it'll probably soon be fodder for a cheesy WB teen drama, even though it's far too good to be sullied in that fashion.
A bit of speed returns with "Global Warming Day", a short punchy little anthem. "Win Some Lose Some" is an incredibly poignant and sad, but remotely hopeful cut. This song is heartwrenchingly beautiful and emotional. I dare you not to get sniffly while listening.
These songs, and the singer, have the same "sexy geek" charm that we've seen in Weezer and Fountains of Wayne over the years. You can sense how smart the guy is...and there's that sense of vulnerability. You wanna embrace him and let him know it's all gonna be all right. There are sweet and semi-sappy, but still wonderful love songs. The album art adds to this appeal, with our protagonist revealed in mismatched socks, grubby tee and boxers and Buddy Holly glasses, hair mussed and sleepy. And you know he's well aware of this charm when you get to the silly, but so true, "Geek In Love".
Willem Hartong's vocals are at times quirky, at others somber and on several tracks nearly angelic...wrapping around his often tongue-in-cheek and just as often heartrending lyrics. I can't stop spinning this disc. I make a concerted effort to take it out to the car whenever I'm driving, even if it's just the 10-minute round trip to the grocery store. It is the perfect mix of bittersweet regret and uplifting, energizing hope.
