This might be the first band I've reviewed that I've also loaded gear for. I worked a show a couple years back when The Pink Spiders were opening for Kill Hannah, and helped load their stuff in. So I have a strange complex with them. It's like I'm their servant, their underling. And I don't like it. What I have to do is separate this emotion from the music, and look at Sweat it Out in complete objectivity. This is what I don't get paid for, after all.
The Pink Spiders go for a pretty straight-forward take on power pop, having no interest in musical subtlety or depth. While guitarist, vocalist and main songwriter Matt Friction likes to rock, he also is clearly obsessed with making his band a hit. This quality can either make or break a band for me, knowing that they want to make catchy music. Does it make them evil? Or just talented writers? As Sweat it Out starts up, the first few tracks point to the former, and upon first listen, I almost gave up altogether. "Busy Signals" employs a godawful, Avril Lavigney keyboard bomp, played by Brendan O'Brien, huge record producer who also oversees this album. The next few songs continue in the same vein, annoying the living crap out of you and testing your patience. They are weak songs that completely confuse you when things start picking up.
Simple tricks like a well-placed "Ooh-ooh-woo-ooh" or a nifty chord change can easily be overdone, but Matt Friction possesses a good mind for this sort of thing. It doesn't show up until "Truth or Dare," where the tempo is still slow but hits way harder. Once "Stranglehold" comes in with its pounding rhythm, The Pink Spiders' true strength shows up: they are good when they're upbeat. When they bring up the tempo and get energetic, the songs take on a frenetic character that hugely improves them. Bob Ferrari gets to show off his furiously quick drum fills, and the lyrics are fun to sing along with, their only purpose anyways. The pace is halted when Friction gets wimpy, or when he decides to abandon their sound in favor of an homage to whatever he thinks is cool, such as the decadent alt-rock of "Don't Wait For Me," and most disastrously in "Mrs. Ruston," a cringe-inducing Paul McCartney knockoff complete with tuba and bouncy piano. Even the title just says, "I wanted to call this song 'Eleanor Rigby' but that was already taken."
Matt Friction has kicked out the rhythm section since the album was released, a move that speaks to who wears the pants in The Pink Spiders. He must think highly of himself, and luckily, he doesn't make a total embarrassment out of his efforts. Sweat it Out is not overly impressive, but it doesn't suck. It's a standard pop album, going right for that part of your brain that needs something to stick to it and doesn't care what it is. For those without selective taste, The Pink Spiders are a natural fit.
