The cover of eleventyseven’s second CD looks like it could be the Beastie Boys dressed up in Daft Punk’s clothes, while the goods inside run the gamut of punkish pop, robot rock and electronic pop. At face value, the amalgamation could be truly ingenious, simultaneously pleasing the skaters and clubbers, though the group’s sugar-coated sounds and watered-down lyrics lack the full-fledged punch needed to fully land on any level.

  

The disc starts off on a jumpy note with “Love In Your Arms,” but the computer-channeled vocals and youth group-tailored chorus sound somewhat scattered and cheesy. The cool quotient is raised ever so slightly with the quirky keyboards of “Happiness,” but overly sunny singing and clichéd phrasing quickly rain out the pulsating parade.

  

“It’s Beautiful” is the disc’s most straightforward song as a plain acoustic ballad, but it’s a mere formulaic throwaway that sounds even too simple for the High School Musical crowd. While the band clearly has a youthful audience in mind, it’s slightly better suited at delivering a meaty message on “Fight to Save Your Life,” which talks about finding identity in faith instead of validation from friends or even fame. And while the project has a few more glimpses of saccharine satisfaction (thanks in part to producer Ian Eskelin of All Star United fame), elevenseventy still has plenty of room to develop before a Galactic Conquest is even remotely possible.     

 

- Andy Argyrakis