May 24–31, 2001

cd reviews|rock/pop

The Push Stars

Opening Time

(Co-op Pop/Wicked Disc)

You may not know The Push Stars by name, but if you’ve seen Say It Isn’t So, Me, Myself and Irene or Malcolm in the Middle, then you’ve heard this Boston-based trio’s smart-pop for the everyman. On their third full length they offer ruminations on life, love and busting your ass just to make a buck. Frontman Chris Trapper is at the top of his game whether coining a lyrically deft ode to minimum wage slaves over the drum ’n’ bass beats of "Millionaire" or crooning the sweet lover’s lament "Last Nights Dream" with nothing but Dan Mcloughlin’s sparse, pretty keyboard melodies as consolation. They never tread the same ground twice, serving up some jangle-pop here, throwing out a cha-cha rhythm there and gettin’ their pop rocks off with arrangements that don’t sound like cookie-cutter radio pap. Though this is their best effort to date, it’s no replacement for seeing the group live, when they rock out with a looser, dirtier vibe that somehow gets lost in the translation from stage to studio.

—Rosemary Darigo