Hexes and Ohs

It’s easy to be turned off by the overt simplicity and lack of imagination in the Montreal-based Hexes and Ohs single "H-H-Highschool.” Unfortunately, the rest of Bedroom Madness does little in the way of offering up enough redeeming qualities to warrant repeat listening. Heidi Donnelly and Edmund Lam, supposed high school sweethearts, seem to have found a niche for creating electro-pop lite, their sickly sweet vocals and ability to playfully bounce off one another more than apparent. While the duo do present some good ideas in way of song structure — the burgeoning synth brigade coursing through "Ship Going Down” comes to mind — they all peter out instead of reaching their explosive potential. Of course, Bedroom Madness is rife with semi-catchy hooks and melodies (as are most pop albums), like the toe-tapping "Suspicion” and its closing harmony, but it’s also swimming with filler and comical, grammatically unnerving lyrics. It makes one consider the appropriateness of actually writing a song called "H-H-Highschool.”