Quantcast

Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers

Music
cover art

Wrongkong

Wrongkong

(Minty Fresh; US: 29 Jan 2008; UK: Available as import)

Part European, part Canadian, part pop and pop electronica—that could easily sum up Wrongkong. And it really does work, not resembling a band who throws things together just for the sake of it. Whether it is the opening attractive of the light “Keep a Hold On” or the full on dance-electro-rock fueling “Catch Up”, Wrongkong, lead by singer Cyrena Dunbar, are a very good band along the lines of Ladytron if they listened to Metric for weeks on end. The album’s consistency is another selling point as “Wide Open” has a certain Jesus and Mary Chain feeling to it—sad but simultaneously uplifting. Meanwhile, “Ooh Good” is oh so good it’s not funny as its groove keeps things flowing perfectly. Even when the band opts for a somewhat roots rock feeling, as is the case with “The Sunshine”, they come up smelling like roses. “Lovesick” on the other hand is a slick bubbly pop number that Alanis might have done in her “Too Hot” teenage daze, er, days. Tight, catchy pop rock also comes down the chute with “Better”, a tune best suited for The New Pornographers but something Wrongkong hits out of the park. But the retro hues are there from start to finish with “Quality Retriever” recalling Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” to a certain extant.

Rating:

Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


Tagged as: wrongkong
Media
Wrongkong - Real Boy
Comments
Now on PopMatters
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  7. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  8. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  9. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  12. The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader)
  13. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  14. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  15. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  16. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  17. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  18. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  19. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  20. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  21. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  22. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  23. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  24. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  25. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
  26. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  27. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  28. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  29. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  30. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.