3Oh!3 drew international attention to themselves on the back of their successful single ‘Don’t Trust Me’ and their duet with current-it-girl, Katy Perry, ‘Starstrukk’. They proved that there was still a place in the world for bubblegum pop, but do they have the legs to create a career, or are they simply just another one-hit wonder? Well, their new album ‘Streets Of Gold’ shows that they are still at the crossroads of their career. There are some gems to be found here, but also some absolute trash.
A piece of mundane album filler, the uninspiring, ‘Beaumont’ kicks off the album and then is followed with some bubblegum pop with extra grunt in the form of, ‘I Can Do Anything’. These are the kind of songs that you can see commercial radio lapping up, but making the serious music fan very sick indeed.
‘My First Kiss’ sees 3Oh!3 team up with another pop-starlet, this time with Ke$ha, it’s cheesy but thankfully not as bad as Mika. ‘Déjà vu’ finds 3Oh!3 sounding a lot better, even if it something that sounds like it could have been left on any of Britney Spear’s later albums. But even the harshest critic has to admit that ‘We Are Young’ is catchy enough to be good… and you’ll probably hear it soon when the party of teeny-boppers next door is being busted up by the cops. It sounds like a song the new generation will choose as an anthem.
‘Touchin On My’ shows that when they want 3Oh!3 can produce some good pop while ‘House Party’ could well be Gen Y’s answer to ‘Fight For Your Right To Party’. Even the cheesy ballad ‘R.I.P.’ seems to eventually grow on you after a few listens, however this is where the album hits a snag. ‘I Know How To Say’ is catchy but oh-so-annoying while ‘Double Vision’ is so cheesy it will have you heaving, and title track, ‘Streets Of Gold’ should have been left on the cutting room floor… and then trampled on several times. You could also possible say the same thing about ‘See You Go’.
‘I’m No The One’ shows that 3Oh!3 possibly found their old East 17 albums and learnt how to write something verging on heartfelt, while you can only listen to ‘Love 2012’ and wish that 3Oh!3 could write an album of tracks like this. The album then closes with 3Oh!3 two previous hits ‘Don’t Trust Me’ and ‘Starstrukk’ (with Katy Perry), just in case you didn’t buy them the first time around.
You would have to be a total pop fan to find 3Oh!3’s ‘Streets Of Gold’ interestingly enough to buy. It may be good for a Gen Y party but will be given a wide birth by serious music fans. Cheesy pop for the new generation.
