Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

The album Popstar on the Lam by The Truly Me Club, a.k.a. Jason Parker, is not exactly a sensation. My first impression was that the tracks are sometimes pretty but mostly sad. Moreover, the general energy is a little too low key for my tastes. But this is his debut album and something tells me that Parker might be on the right track to finding what works for him in his music.

This album started with a song called Cal-Ifor-Ni-Ay. This reminded me of a saddened Beach Boys song mixed with the kind of ballad-like yet charging beat Pinback produces. This song was pretty and I enjoyed its build-up because it made me feel like more good stuff was about to come. Unfortunately, this song's crescendo faded too fast because it turned out to be what I felt was lacking in the rest of the album.

Popstar on the Lam is a very slow-going and simple album. In fact, it took me a few listens for it to grow on me at all. It's frankly a little boring because the sound is so modest, so held back. It takes a lot of careful listening to realize that Parker actually has some beautiful things to say and a nice vulnerable voice to say it with. The music is simplistic and dainty with a bit of edge. But most of the songs strike me as being too flat for everyday listening.

On to the lyrics: Parker provides a simple poetry of candid words. They tell stories of heartache and often reflect the feeling of being stuck. What the Suicide Did and Popstar on the Lam were my favorites next to Cal-Ifor-Ni-Ay because the words captured what it means to say goodbye to people as well as phases or memories in one’s life. But both songs were guilty of what I heard in the rest of the album: they were too held back.

Maybe The Truly Me Club would be a great band to see live if you were in a thoughtful mood. I would love to hear Parker really just let go in that setting. I hear the talent and I want to like The Truly Me Club because the lyrics are so honest and relatable that it warms you up to the album. But Popstar on The Lam fell short for me. It was incomplete somehow, which frustrated me because I can hear a glimmer of potential.