The Daily Spin, May 16
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong | Presto
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Presto (2020)
Artist: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Link:
Hailing to their typically electro funk sound, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong haven’t really done anything to innovate on their previous sound with their fifth album - and to be fair, it’s a formula that has worked well in the past for them, so there hasn’t been a terribly large reason to do so.
Unfortunately, it’s just not a sound that really works for me. As much as I think the sound has potential - their juxtaposition of rock guitars, easy drums, and the sort of floaty synths that have become quintessential in a lot of great electronica are present throughout this album - the vocals just don’t work for me at all.
The album alternates between feeling preachy and hokey, somewhere on the line between AJR’s faux-troubled youth and the outright absurdity of a Kidz Bop lyric. I don’t know if it’s just a me thing with the inflections in the lead singer’s voice, but it’s giving condescension, and that’s not a sentiment I’m much for.
Rating: 6.5/10
Best Tracks: Snake Eyes
Worst Tracks: Overrun