Neon Neon - Praxis Makes Perfect

Well here we are; a new Neon Neon album. To be honest, I didn't see this one happening. Their first album, 'Stainless Style' has always had a soft spot in my heart, and I was always disappointed that it seemed like a one-off project that we'd never hear from again. How wrong I was, as they are back this year with a follow up album called 'Praxis Makes Perfect'.

For all who don't know Neon Neon, you may be familiar with at least one of it's members. Neon Neon consists of Gruff Rhys, lead singer and guitarist of Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals, and American hip-hop producer Boom Bip. I am a massive fan of Super Furry Animals, and my devotion to them led to me discovering this side project.

Being that Stainless Style is a favorite of mine, how does their new record fair? Unfortunately, it's a bit lackluster. To me it just doesn't have many of those standout moments from their debut. There are the few occasional moments that do show off that familiar Neon Neon sound, but some of the songs fall short and in some cases, just aren't very good. There is the positive that the poorly executed rap vocals from the first album are not present and more time is focused on Gruff Rhys, but without those defining moments that Stainless Style had, the album just doesn't prove itself. The album is also disappointingly short, and maybe could have done with a few extra tracks, but if they weren't up to standard like some of the tracks on the album then maybe it was best to leave it as it is.

Trying not to be completely negative, I do enjoy parts of the album. Praxis Makes Perfect is not consistent, but I do thoroughly enjoy some of the earlier tracks such as 'The Jaguar' and 'Dr Zhivago', where they could fit in just fine with the quality of their earlier work. The first single from the album 'Mid Century Modern Nightmare' is (like the album) too short. When you think that this song is great and they've really got something going, it ends, and leaves you thinking that they wasted an opportunity to define it further in to what could have been one of the better songs on the record.

As it stands I'm not overly impressed with the sophomore effort of Neon Neon. I find Gruff Rhys does a stand up job on vocals, and portrays the same quality as I come to expect from him. But on the music side, the production lets the side down and in some places drops the ball. I don't know what they were thinking with tracks like 'Shopping (I Like To)', but it just doesn't work, and in the grand scheme of things neither does the album.