You Can Be My Wave

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. I'm talking about the 1999 one-hit-wonders Len. I'm sure you are already familiar with the song Steal My Sunshine, a sunny pop tune that was inescapable in the 2000s. That song, however, is in no way, shape, or form, an indication of Len's sound. In fact, after listening to this record, you would probably question whether Len had a definitive sound at all. On You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, Len functions more as soundtrack curators, supplying a diverse array of jams to keep the party going. We've got Man of the Year which is an infectiously catchy piece of arena rave and hip-hop. Beat-boxing, record scratching, a rapping robot, and resonant bass all come together to make a real 'feel-good' track. Len gets their Kraftwerk on with The Hard Disk Approach, a fun synth track with a vintage flair that has rudimentary (but catchy) melodies and spoken word passages in German.

Later on, we get some rock influences coming through. Feelin' Alright is an okay attempt at a power pop, alternative rock track. While catchy, it does feel like a Fisher-Price 'baby's first rock song' with how rudimentary the drums are and how the guitar riff is essentially looped from start to finish without any sort of deviation or progression. The following track Cheeky Burger, surprisingly, is a pretty great punk track with a much more lively drum performance and a vocal performance that does not feel out of place at all.

There are a few tracks I don't particularly care for, like Cryptik Souls Crew and Beautiful Day which harken back to a more classic hip-hop sound. The instrumentals are pretty funky, while the flows and the bars are very primitive. I also didn't really care for the closing track which is pretty gospel inspired, but by this point in the record the party has already cooled down.

Believe it or not, this is actually a pretty interesting record. Despite not having a cohesive sound or direction at all, a great deal of these tracks are surprisingly fun. The album functions essentially as a playlist, serving up lots of variety with an unanticipated level of quality. The style and flavours are quite dated, but hey, if you were throwing a block party and expected people from all different walks of life in attendance, this might not be such a bad option.