Million Dollar Mouth, Say My Name…Now Say It Again

They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and you should definitely follow that advice with Say My Name…Now Say It Again by L.A.’s Million Dollar Mouth. The CD cover is a suit and tie guy driving in his convertible with a lobster in his lap. Huh? Bypassing this CD because of it ridiculous cover, however, would be a mistake, since it’s full of rather smart alt-rock. Music-wise, it falls somewhere between Weezer and Cracker, and just like both those bands, the songs have very clever lyrics. Lead track “Stupid Like Me” is a nice little jab about the hypocrisy of intellectuals, while “Big Kiss,” with the line “You will always being living rent-free in my mind,” is another winner. The standout track is “Lush,” which has a remarkably hooky chorus that makes you wonder why you haven’t heard it before.

Frontman Mike Biscotti has a nice, laid-back voice reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. Unfortunately, he tries to sing so low at times that he ends up sounding like the guy from the Crash Test Dummies. Just listen to “Strong,” and you half-expect him to start going “mmm mmm mmm mmm.” My only other complaint is that the guitars sound exactly the same on every track. It has that “I just got my new amp and I only know the reverb setting” sound to it. All in all, though, this is a pretty good release that should help propel these guys to the next level.