Clicky on this linky for the main Aztecky Cameraecky pagecky ... Try Sand, Farm Spain Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10 They might only be a watered-down version of Dire Straits, but who cares? The year was 1983 and here's a band who's not doing synth-pop! And they do manage to come up with a bunch of cool songs and, when it's all said and done, they have a much cooler band name! But anyway, this is such a charming and inoffensive album that I could not help but enjoy it. Everything on here seemed like it was meant to be fun ... and it really was! Who cares about the little things like melodic-innovation shortcomings and stuff like that? (Oddly enough, those songs that seemed to have the most melodic shortcoming had the most creative instrumentation ..... Of course, the creative instrumentation pales extremely to the same sense of classic Roxy Music, but ...) There's nothing shocking but everything is absorbing in the world of Aztec Camera. "Oblivious" is easily the best song on here. I became addicted to it the first time I listened to it. It has such a catchy melody that it made my eyes glisten with ... glisten-juice. My adoration of that song decreased greatly since then, but still. That's a good song. The album trudges along strongly until you get to the middle and the melodies stop being so terrific (though always light). Besides that, its own novelty grows thin by the middle and it begins to grow tiresome. Nevertheless, how can you hate something so pleasant? As the French would say: Let's just pass another resolution ... Oh wait. I mean- As the French would say: C'est impossible. Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10 (A good album! The melodies are mostly good, and the songs are so fun and lighthearted, that you can't help but enjoy most of it!) Average Song Score: 8.7 (The first half of the album is remarkably consistent and remarkably good. It all tapers off toward the end.) Album Tilt: 8.5 (It grows tiresome, but it's still a fun album.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (There are no big artistic revelations with Aztec Camera. You might only consider this a combination of Dire Straits and Al Stewart.) Band Name: 10plus (The only thing better than this band's songs is the band's name. Yaaaaaay!) Track Reviews Oblivious 10/10 I'll tell ya what! I almost gave this a 10plus! ... Nevertheless, this song has such a great, catchy melody. It's just very nice soft-rock! It has a very nice aura. It's totally guitar-oriented sound (with some electric organ in the background), which I suppose is impressive for 1983, because everybody and their mother were doing synth-pop. ... I guess the reason I'm not giving this a 10plus is because the chorus repeats too much. But the song is short enough (3 minutes) that it doesn't wear out its welcome in the slightest. The Boy Wonders 9/10 Another suuuuuperrrrrr upbeat, soft-rock tune! It's really not a whole lot different than "Oblivious," thank goodness! ... I mean, the tune is totally different, but other than that! I really enjoy this one, too. Good melody!!! Walk Out to Winter 9/10 Another totally different and still really good soft-rock tune! (This might be a good song if you're trying to make a non-carol containing Christmas music mix.) ... Actually, this chorus also repeats itself too much. That's a bit of a detractor, I guess, but the song is just so pleasant that I don't care that much. The Bugle Sounds Again 9.5/10 This song really reminds me of The Smiths except its decidedly pop and mainstreamy ... (I don't know if that actually means anything, but ... Yes, this is just another immaculate soft-rock ditty. We Could Send Letters 10/10 Just to prove that they are awesome or something, the tune that is the least tiresome, they drag on for nearly six minutes. Not that I'm complaining! This is a perfectly wonderful soft-rock tune with a very calming instrumental interlude. ... I love Aztec Camera's sound! It's highly addictive! Pillar to Post 9.5/10 More pop for you to sink your teeth in! ... And the melody, again, is another really good one (...and it isn't a far cry away from sounding like "Walk Out to Winter"). Anyway! More goodness!! Release 8.5/10 This song starts out being very slow, bleak, and with no rhythm section. But as if Aztec Camera could not ever write something without some sort of upbeat dancable rhythm, they quickly incorporate one! (And that's a good thing, of course ... I don't want to listen to a bunch of bleak things after everything else in the album.) That said, up until the end when the song just gets crazy, it ain't exactly exciting. It sounds like a dumb song old people would dance to. And there aren't really any great hooks in here or anything ... not that the hooks in the other songs were exactly "great." Lost Outside the Tunnel 8/10 Well, this still has that silly light-rock dance thing to it ... but the melody isn't that great. Apart from the rather unusual turn the instrumentation seems to have taken within the last two tracks, we've heard it before in the album! (I guess I'm sort of grateful that they at least decided to dress up their relative melodic shortcomings with relatively weird instrumentation.) Back on Board 8/10 The chorus sounds a bit too trite but I can say that this song is entirely pleasant. ... and, oh, I do like this pleasantness! I love being pleasanted. This song probably would have benefited from a lesser running time. Down the Dip 8/10 There's no rhythm section! What's wrong with these danged Aztecs all of the sudden? No wonder they died off. Haywire 7/10 Ewwww! This chorus decidedly doesn't work. Um ... and there's not really a rhythm section here, either. ... How bleak! ... HMKRKMHKRMKHKRKKRKKRKKK! Orchid Girl 8.5/10 Okay *phew* they've returned to that good old soft-rock sound with the rhythm section and stuff. This isn't a great tune, but it's better than that stupid last song. So, I'll endorse this one. Commercially. If I get paid a lot of money. Actually, I'll give it an 8.5 for free. Queen's Tattoos 8.5/10 I didn't know that Freddie Mercury, Bria... Hey! This is the last song on the album! And is sounds like the most novelty thing on here. ... You know what this song sounds kinda like? The Barenaked Ladies! ... seriously. They sound like Barenaked Ladies. Hmmmm... I wish I sounded like Barenaked Ladies... Be like an Aztec and send your thoughts about this album here.

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He once cheated someone. It wasn't easy.