 Media Credit: Jenny Jimenez
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"Blood, Sweat & Fears," kicks off the newest album by What Made Milwaukee Famous with a bang. Over layers of feedback and pounding drums, Michael Kingcaid sings with a lazy swagger. This one track is the most effortlessly cool thing the band does over the next 40 minutes, for better and worse. After that atypical opening, Milwaukee's best when they play with energy. At faster tempos, the band's songs feel classic, molded from the same ingredients as contemporaries The Long Winters and Spoon: classic power pop updated with a modern indie rock feel. "Sultan" is the first song that really gets to the meat of what the band does best. Unfortunately, it's at this midway point that the band slows things down. It's an admirable plan, allowing the listener a moment to breathe at the half-way point, but slowing things down doesn't play to Milwaukee's carefree strengths. During these slower ballads the songs hover somewhere between 1990s emo and this decade's romantic arena rock. Luckily, the band ends the album with three tracks that practically negate the blandness of the previous few songs. After the bouncy kick of "To Each His Own," WMMF takes it out with two folk songs that show the band is capable of slowing things down successfully. All it takes is ditching the layers of instrumentation that help make their faster songs so much fun.
Spring Break
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