The Loud Family: Interbabe Concern

The Loud Family wants to make sure you get one thing straight right off the bat: In the final analysis, this might be a fine pop recording, but the band is not going to make it easy for you to find out. Perhaps ex-Game Theory frontman Scott Miller thinks his voice is a little too pretty, or that his power-chord guitar hooks are a bit too catchy, and the constantly changing time signatures and earnestly opaque songs are his way of not taking the musically easy way out. Whatever the reason, Interbabe Concern is challenging enough to require several plays before the listener realizes how much fun there is to be had here. It's flawed by consistently and earnestly smug, nonlinear lyrics that, unlike the melodies, never really tear off in any adventurous new directions, leaving you wondering why Miller is making such a display of emotion. Still, if you're willing to work a little to enjoy music, this big, dense album offers a decent payoff.