Lost Boys: The Tribe Soundtrack (Album)

Artists Addiction Records

August 17, 2008, 04:57 PM

Opening track, Aidan’s cover of ‘Cry Little Sister’ is as overblown as the original, drenched in gothic atmosphere with a chorus that’ll send any fan of the original movie on a massive nostalgia trip. As movie themes go, this is top of the class: a sweeping slab of pompous rock that’s guaranteed to make scenes from the Lost Boys pop into your head.

Hearing Aidan frontman WiL Francis singing on this track is initially jarring, especially since he can’t quite hit some of the big notes. However, give him a chance and it becomes clear he isn’t a bad choice of vocalist for this cover. His creaky vocal contributions to the verses in particular are custom-made for this sort of bombastic goth-rock and the second that killer chorus kicks in nostalgia alone carries this song through.

Aidan get away with tampering with this movie classic, but cynicism suggests this is because they haven’t actually changed ‘Cry Little Sister’ all that much. Even though this means the song’s as great you remember it being, you have to wonder whether there was much point in re-recording it in the first place.

Airbourne’s ‘Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast’ is old school cock rock at its best. If you can overcome Joel O'Keeffe’s hoarse-throated vocals, this is good, uncomplicated fun, and the perfect accompaniment to a beery music festival.

Eagles of Death Metal continue the old school theme, but with a sense of fun that’s both more pronounced and a lot less entertaining. The this-song-is-over-haha-fooled-you pauses and the comedy skit at the end cheapen what’s otherwise good, old fashioned rock and roll, and a chorus where falsetto vocals actually make the song more enjoyable, and not more irritating. ‘Don’t Speak (I Came To Make a Bang)’ is like a slightly modernised version of ‘Too Much….’ only less fun.

Yeah Whatever’s offering, ‘Summertime’ boasts a total of three lines of lyrics per verse and a chorus that comes in at an impressive, erm, also three lines long. It switches from stormy guitars to hazy, summery chords, but neither of these distract from the fact that ‘Summertime’ is basically a handful of lyrics recycled to death. ‘Summertime’ is that most frustrating of things: an okay song, well-produced, played by competent musicians with a decent lead singer, but nothing to warrant getting exited about.
A live acoustic version of ‘Burrito’ by Seether is this album’s surprise highlight. Stripping this song down to the bare bones really draws attention to Shaun Morgan’s always-interesting vocals.‘Burrito’ may not grab you like some of the livelier songs on this album, but Morgan’s gravelly vocals, the raw-sounding live guitars, and intriguing lyrics make this song a grower.

The downsides are a rather limp bridge section and the niggling annoyance that, even though the packaging clearly states this is a live recording, there’s still a burst of applause and a “thank you, thank you” included at the end. This would have been expected of a ‘Seether Live’ CD, but it’s jarring halfway through a movie soundtrack.
‘Kingdom’ by Dave Gohan blends lightly electronicised vocals with a thumping trance beat. It manages to squeeze in endless synths and even soups-up Gohan’s vocals to give them a slight electronic crackle - without turning ‘Kingdom’ into a cheese-fest. Instead, we get a great big slice of hazy, hook-laden electronic rock. Even if Gohan loses points for an overlong instrumental ending, this is still one of the best songs on the album.

Which is a lot more than can be said for G Love & Special Sauce’s effort. ‘Long Way Down’ is guaranteed to irritate, mainly due to some overwhelmingly slick and smug sounding “one-to-the-two-to-the-three” 90’s style lyrics. It’s just too neat, everything rhymes and the beat is followed with “one-to-the-two-to-the-three” precision. You wouldn’t think slickness could be a bad thing, but ‘Long Way Down’ proves that sometimes songs can be just too slick. ‘Long Way Down’ is definitely a case of all style and no substance.

‘Wish You Were Here’ is a barebones country-and-western ballad, and PJ Pesce’s voice is strong enough to stand without much musical accompaniment. ‘Wish You Were Here’ has a pleasantly undemanding swing that’ll have you tapping your toes - even if it’s a bit too middle-of-the-road to get you hitting the ‘repeat’ button.

Starsailor’s ‘In My Blood’s is a light rock ballad with a flawless chorus of call-and-response vocals that may be three inches away from being pop music, but edgy chords scrape this song back into the rock genre. Even its moments of sappy pop are so big and melodic, that it’s possible to overlook their naffness. ‘In My Blood’ doesn’t quite reach rock-anthem status, but it has some real lighters-in-the-air moments that make it a guilty pleasure.

The Von Bondies prove that you can get away with repeating the same line over and over if what you’re repeating is as flawlessly addictive as their “whoa-oh-oh only to haunt you” chorus. Blend in some eerie synths, intriguing lyrics, and a vocalist custom-made for these big indie numbers, and you get an album highlight. No doubt it’ll have scores of listeners taking note of The Von Bondies’ name for future reference.
The alt-indie of ‘For My Friends’ really shouldn’t work, especially with naff lyrics enthusing about “the love that I have for my friends,” but Blind Melon manage to pull it off - at least until a cringe-worthy ending. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to have someone laughing at the end of this track is an idiot. But, the odd noises Blind Melon coax from their guitars and their distinctive-sounding frontman make this song one for those who worship at the altar of alt-rock superstars Biffy Clyro.

The Hold Steady are an acquired taste. There are probably plenty of people who think their spoken-word vocals are ‘edgy’ and ‘trademark.’ Personally, I think they make ‘Knuckles,’ excruciating, although I am impressed by Craig Finn’s ability to speak out of tune. You’re either going to find ‘Knuckles’ lyrics inspirational or naff, and will either enthuse about the brooding guitars, or wish they’d crank up the volume so you don’t have to hear those toe-curling lyrics quite so clearly. Definitely a track to divide opinion.
Styles of Beyond don’t have that problem. They marry rap vocals with crushing riffs like a darker version of Linkin Park. They may lack Linkin Park’s stadium-sized choruses, but they make up for it with waves of distorted guitars and a menacing vibe that’s surprisingly absent from much of this soundtrack. The rap verses go and on and might just see you nodding off, but the chorus is slickly cool rap rock at its most innovative, and goes a good way towards compensating for those tired verses.

‘Day Fire’ by Hindu Kush is a straightforward rock song packed with distorted riffs and frontman Elijah’s confident delivery, but it lacks any real hooks and is overshadowed by the stronger songs on this album, meaning it passes by in an inoffensive blur.
Jackpot make a stab at atmospheric rock with ‘Dizzy,’ and occasionally hit their target, producing a heady, summer’s-afternoon chorus. However, Jackpot seem to believe that plodding chords and disinterested-sounding vocals guarantee atmosphere, resulting in trudging verses. The chorus is hazy perfection - if you can put up with the rest of the song.

This hit and miss album comes to a close with the instrumental ‘Suite,’ which has some of the brooding energy you’d expect from a Lost Boys soundtrack. However, the sense of menace is fleeting as the chilling sound effects, ominous chords and dragging, doomy drumbeats give way to a more upbeat, industrial-tinged midsection and then ends on a surprisingly upbeat note. Surely film instrumentals should be all about the drama? But it’s hard to imagine ‘Suite’ playing in the background while anything dramatic is happening onscreen.

‘Lost Boys: The Tribe’ has a few songs that are definitely worth checking out (‘Cry Little Sister,’ ‘Burrito,’ ‘Kingdom,’ ‘In My Blood,’ ‘Only To Haunt You’) and some that showcase promising talents. However, there are a number of songs that are just plain bad. Spend your time and energy tracking down the songs on this album that are halfway decent, because on the whole, this leaves a lot to be desired.