Dirty Vegas - One
By Brad Podray

Dirty Vegas - One
Label: Capitol
Rating: 

When one thinks of Dirty Vegas, they are immediately pegged as one hit wonders whose entire fan base came from a horde of people brainwashed by that accursed Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial where that woman had an epileptic seizure to the beat of their “Without You” single.  

When one takes the time to explore their new album, One, one can sift through their presumptions about Dirty Vegas and truly come to appreciate the fact that Dirty Vegas are in fact a one hit wonders whose entire fan base came from a horde of people brainwashed by that accursed Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial where that woman had an epileptic seizure to the beat of their “Without You” single.  

The tracks on this album melt together so smoothly that the listener can not only hardly tell when each new song has begun, but can scarcely tell any two tracks apart.  This review is not exaggerating.  Basic mid-tempo beats, pop-friendly acoustic instruments, song bridges placed exactly where you’d expect them to be, and a host of other perfectly normal things glaze this album like the sugar glaze on a delicious Krispy Kreme donut.  

Unfortunately, this band is not able to satisfy any hunger of mine, unlike the aforementioned Krispy Kreme donut.  To be honest, this album is only slightly more interesting then the donut.  Yet I digress and must start writing more about the album, lest this review turn into an interesting and delicious tribute to sweet snacks.  Anyhow, the band has clearly taken it upon themselves to go for more of a pop-rock mentality than what they were known for before.  Now you’ll see profuse use of guitars and rock-style song format in a way that has been done by nearly anyone else who’s managed to trip over a six-stringed instrument.  Track 9, “Given You Everything” breaks the mold of this formula slightly, almost as if Dirty Vegas is paying a tribute to U2, but a cheap electronic tribute to U2.  

“Closer” is not a cover of the excellent NIN song, but is the token acoustic-styled slow song whose brothers are found on every generic rock album ever.  There they are… Commonly in the very center or very end of the album, letting the listeners know that there’s a soft side to the band.  Yet, there are good aspects to this album: The mood is generally mellow throughout the whole thing.  

If you’re looking for electronica with an edge, this is not the place to go.  If you’re looking for techno with all the sharp surfaces sanded down and each song is just as easy to swallow as the last, this CD is for you.  The lyrics are mellow and the vocalist is quite competent.  The beats and programming, though basic, have the potential to get lodged in peoples’ heads(although truth be told, nothing on this album stacks up to their old techno pop blitzkrieg).

Sure to please: Nobody…unless they get another top spot on another car commercial…in which case, Everybody.

Sure to disappoint: Mitsubishi.

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