Home Free

First things first: the Besties have traded in their drum machine for the real deal, drummer Frank E. Korn. In theory, this seems like a step in the right direction, seeing how they were relying on the tinniest, goofiest of drum machines on their debut, Singer. One listen to their second album, Home Free, though, makes you wonder whether they threw the fun out with the drum machine: this release finds the Besties turning down the sweetness and turning up the seriousness. Again, this seems like a step in the right direction — Singer's cuteness was a little cloying at times. The problem with Home Free is that it plays things safe — really, really safe — and it adds up a set of songs that just aren't as fun as they might be. "Right Band, Wrong Song" and "What Would Tim Armstrong Do" kick the album off to a fairly good start, coupling the Besties' characteristic puckishness with a refreshing dose of polish and maturity. Unfortunately, the rest of the album struggles to keep up with the first two songs. Again, it seems like the Besties are just playing things too serious and too safe. "Birthday," for example, really puts the band at a disadvantage; it's slow and melancholy, two things that are definitely not the Besties' strong suit. And the album sags under the weight of a big ol' second album cliché when it comes to "The Gothenburg Handshake," which is more or less a standard second-album-band-on the-road song complete with a dollop of boy-I-miss-you-sweetie stuff. It's not bad, but it's not that great either. If Home Free tells us anything, it's that the Besties are at their strongest when they're having a lot of fun. Singer might have been chock-full of cheesy drum loops, but it also had some really great moments of wry, dancey brilliance ("Prison Song" is a great example of this). Aside from a few initial glimmers of sweet-tart sassiness and joie de vivre, Home Free sounds oddly cramped and restrained. Sad to say, but at its very best Home Free finds the Besties sounding like a seriously watered-down version of the All Girl Summer Fun Band. It really makes you wonder why they felt like they had to get all dressy and serious. Those who enjoyed the Besties' first album will be surprised to find how tame their cutie pies have become on this disc.