While the comparisons to
Belle & Sebastian must no doubt be endless, these French popsters obviously don't let that stop them from continuing to develop songs that waver between fun and depressingly sad, upbeat and melancholy, and all along seem to be influenced by drug use and a European pop sense. The more upbeat tunes seem to be somewhat silly, whether it's the lead singer going on about driving around the different New York expressways, or about what life would be like if we were all monkeys. The slower songs are the real gems. Their Swedish pop influence shows off here, as the hopelessness on songs like "Metal Mash" really shows through any other kind of message the band might be trying to get across. Occasionally, there are some real stinkers on here, songs that just don't fit with the mood the band is trying to get across on the rest of the album, but when
Herman Dune plays a good pop song, one definitely takes notice. Unfortunately, on this album, it's just too hit or miss.