Rating:   2 Ratings     12345  

Toothfairy Formative Hush Records

      The mind behind Toothfairy is Chad Crouch, former vocalist and writer for indie group Blanket Music. As a vocalist, he’s a cross between Conor Oberst and Sea Change-era Beck, all smooth vocals delivered with modern detachment. Even intoning some painfully silly lyrics, Crouch manages to imbue them with enough hipster dignity to pull it off.

      Formative opens with "Kicked Outta the Band," not the Pete Doherty story but instead a slightly cynical allegory of the trials and tribulations of your average musician. "At first I was a drummer," Crouch murmurs, "but I had no talent/Just pitter-pattered on a plastic waste bucket." An exquisitely observed notation of a musical odyssey, it includes a lyrical grab from Modern English’s "Melt With You," which somehow makes perfect sense. Complete with elegant piano plunking in the background, "Kicked Outta the Band" is a fitting introduction to Toothfairy.

      Songs like "Buzz Cut" and "HFYA" maintain a lounging, lingering cool that hangs around even after the trip has stopped. "Buzz Cut" in particular relies on its aura to carry it through, a bit like that kid in high school who wore Velvet Underground shirts and spiked his hair, hoping you wouldn’t actually ask him to explain his musical taste. "Buzz Cut," ostensibly the narrative of a trip to the barber shop ("Watch the clumps all fall/Black, and brown, blonde, all"), sounds just so damn good that you forgive its lyrical slightness.

      But it just serves to underscore the fundamental flaw of this album. The melodies are brilliant, lush and yielding in all the right places. But the lyrics fall short, which really separates this album from something like Give Up. For where the Postal Service dwell in allusive and witty prose, Toothfairy revels in the mundane, in blank descriptions of suburban adolescence.

      Blanket Music dwelt in sharply, profoundly American themes which managed to neatly but honestly portray the political and social climate of the country. But in Toothfairy he indulges his sweet tooth, avoiding the commentary and cutting straight to the coy observations of youth.

      Sometimes this works, as during "Don’t Sweat It," where Crouch disdainfully croons "Welcome to the pep rally…The half-hour’s compulsory." Finally, he sounds less like some faux-hipster and more like one of the impossibly cool high-schoolers you idolized. But other times, in songs like "Humdrum," it just sounds like trying too hard, something any musician is desperate to avoid.

      The centerpiece of the album is the sublime "Let’s Go," which gives a violent jolt to an occasionally tired formula. "Let’s go! Let’s go! Doesn’t matter where!" He announces with a gleeful enthusiasm absent on much of the album. "Let’s Go" is brilliant, danceable, and too stylish for its own good. Guaranteed to get you moving, it can make even the most jaded break into a smile.

      Elsewhere, there’s the giggly backing vocals of "Keep Dancing" and the "19th Nervous Breakdown"-country-infused-techno vibe of "Stephanie, My First Crush." Overall, the restraint of this album becomes grating, preventing it from reaching its true potential. Toothfairy have enough style and attitude to carry them, but they could be more. With a little work on the lyrics and more unique touches like the urban beats of "Down in the Developments," Formative would be fantastic. As such, it’s simply a good CD, which is nothing to be ashamed of.

-Emily Tartanella 11/29/05