The La's - The La's (1990)

The La's what? Seriously, why does no one know how to use apostrophes? Quick aside: Let's say you have one pizza slice. What would happen if you add another pizza slice? Would you have two pizza slice's? So if you have more than one La, you would have multiple Las, not La's. My guess is The La's did this so people would be more likely to pronounce their name LAHZ and not LAHS.

So I know nothing about The La's or The La's, though I'm sure at one point I'll recognize one of their songs. I don't know why but having such a stupid name made me really curious about this band when I first read the list. Same thing about The Bees, though I won't be getting to them for quite a while. In any case, there are so many possibilities to an album released in 1990. Are The La's early grunge? Late to the game 80s music? Are they a hip-hop troupe? Or maybe they're a wuss-rock/country fusion group? Will they surprise me and actually be kinda good?

Hmm... first impression isn't too bad. The La's seem to be a slightly twangier version of R.E.M. I'm getting a slightly Celtic vibe from The La's, and I certainly appreciate any band that opens an album with an acoustic guitar track. For the first few tracks The La's are really heavy on the chunky chords but have a pretty solid sound- a little airy and jangly, which is a remnant from the 80s, but clear and sorta heavy, more like the alt rock bands that would show up later in the 90s. So that's excellent.

I knew I'd find a song by The La's that I knew, and it happened. Everyone's heard "There She Goes." I think this song or some cover version was used for every teen movie or every TV show on the WB where there was a teen heartthrob pining for the pretty girl next door. I can't confirm that but I'm sure it happened. How else would I have heard this song? On the radio? I never listen to the radio, takes too long to hear a song I actually like. Besides, by the time I actually had regular access to a radio and time to listen to it (after I could drive a car and had a job to travel to) this song would have been 10 years old, so it wouldn't have been on the radio anymore. Anyway it's a pretty good song and dangerously catchy.

"There She Goes" seems to be a major departure for the band. It's a pretty simple song with its chord changes and lack of a verse-chorus structure. But the other songs on the album have a hard edge and chunky power chords. The penultimate track "Failure" I feel a very strong influence from The Stooges though not quite as juvenile. I also feel like every song just kinda stops without a clear ending. Of course I say that and the album's final track "Looking Glass" just goes on and on and on.

Well, The La's was pretty good and The La's are a decent band. I was feeling pretty good about the album after the first few tracks, but my expectations were raised after I heard "There She Goes." Not that it's a world-changing song, but it was a departure from the other songs that they really never duplicated. I still kinda liked it, but I'm betting The La's only made The Big List because everyone loves "There She Goes" and that's not right. 3 stars.