The Daisies
Kowloon House (I.R.S.)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Public News, October 4, 1995
This forgettable album showcases an acoustic-based alt-pop band without a strong sound, fronted by a songwriter and singer who doesn't have a clear idea of what to say or how to say it.
That frontman is Jamie Hyatt, who should be told that if you're not that good a singer, you'd better have: a) good songs, b) a good band or c) the nerve to totally disregard your shortcomings by blazing mercilessly over them. Hyatt is possessor of none of these. He comes closest to c), but he chooses smugness and awe of his own "talent" rather than crazed chutzpah.
The music is uninspiring, and most of the time the band sounds bored. Running the gamut from mid-tempo happy pop songs to mid-tempo sad pop songs, the Daisies trudge along, perhaps because they couldn't find any other bands to join.
The lyrics are as weak as the music. Lines such as "And I know I don't know what I want" are neither groundbreakingly insightful nor intellectually or emotionally resonant. Instead, they reek of presumed genius, the thoughts of a guy who figures that since Socrates decided that all he knew was that he knew nothing, then accepting this as a credo must make him brilliant
Still, I get to add another to my list of ironic song titles: the album ends with "Another Good Reason Not To Be A Star." It was presumptuous for Hyatt to think it would even be an issue.