Wheatus

There was a time where Wheatus were everywhere. Or at least one song of theirs was: "Teenage Dirtbag.” Used in the soundtrack for the movie Loser, it propelled the band into that one hit wonder category that will haunt them for the rest of their career. So when they were unable to duplicate their early success, their record company Sony lost faith in them and barely released their second album, causing the band to quit the label and re-release the album on their own label under a new title of Suck Fony. Too Soon Monsoon, the band’s latest album, shows that it must have been Sony’s tastes that changed because Wheatus really haven’t changed at all. They are still writing good pop songs that have that slight punk-y edge to them, but all in a very friendly, non-confrontational way. Basically, the kind of songs that get lots and lots of airplay if a record company gets behind them. While there’s no denying Wheatus still have that commercial edge, their songs are also very one-dimensional in the way that some pop songs can be. In fact, when they try to add some lyrical depth with a 9/11 themed song ("Hometown”), it falls kind of flat. But when they keep it simple and play to their strengths, there’s no reason to think that they couldn’t move in the category of two hit wonders.