The Adored
The Adored EP

V2 Records / 2005

The Adored bill themselves as post-art-punk-power-pop-new-wave-dance music.

Though initially skeptical, I now agree that the above description is spot-on. The Adored sound like The Clash and The Jam talking about The Specials at a Blur show in 1992. Their lyrics run the gamut from pop-culture commentary to the more tried-and-true terrain of girls, sex and…girls.

Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley guests on two of the most punk-influenced tracks on this EP, “TV Riot” and “Sex is in Fashion.” “TV Riot” is a critique of a culture that is influenced primarily by the throwaway fodder on cable TV, complete with a fist-pumping chorus. “Sex is in Fashion” has the same pumped-up energy as the first track, and both songs are less pop-sounding than the rest of the music on the album.

“Chemistry,” “She’s a Boy” and “I Don’t Care (What You Do to Me)” are lighter fare. All these songs have much more of a new-wave dance feel to them, while still retaining the pop-punk sensibilities that infuse this EP as a whole.

The Adored’s full length LP is slated for the first half of 2005 – and for everyone unsatisfied with thin, uninspired radio-ready rock music, this album will be a must-have.

-- JN, 02/13/05