When an album cover features a gang sign on it, one would reasonably assume that the music on the CD would be mostly gangsta rap. In the case of 3OH!3’s new album, Want, the gangster songs are all supposedly sarcastic. Indeed, the Boulder, Colorado duo (composed of Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman) have openly stated that their music, with misogynistic lyrics that talk about booze and booty, is satirical. However, on Want, 3OH!3 fails to make obvious the satirical aspect of their music and end up becoming exactly what it tried to make fun of.
Now, Want is not another generic rap album. No, in fact, the synth-heavy music is on the borderline of being classified as techno. Also, the best songs on the CD are the ones that feature the pair singing. All of this would seem to point towards the fact that Want is not a hip-hop album at all, but the truth of the matter is that the song-content is undeniably hip-hop based and the delivery is very hip-hop as well.
The minute long instrumental introduction to the album prepares the listener for the rest of the CD well. The song starts off with a pleasantly original enough electronic rhythm, previewing the heavy dosages of drum machines. Then the synths kick in... and for roughly half a minute play the exact same note with a rather boring rhythm. After those 30 seconds, however, variations in the notes occur. Overall, this one minute intro is pretty monotonous... and yet somehow catchy, foreshadowing the upcoming music. Yes, even without lyrics, the intro - entitled Tapp - epitomizes the mix of monotony and catchiness that make up the album that you will listen to feverishly for a couple of months, and then burn because you are so sick of its songs. (No, I don’t mean burn a copy for your friend.)
Want ends up being a guilty pleasure CD. The wise listener will acknowledge that the song-content is boring, but they will still listen to it because the good songs are addictive. Yes, good songs like Punkb*tch. This track, the second on the CD, is a fitting example of 3OH!3 music: from the song-title you can correctly assume what the lyrics will be like (the chorus goes like this: Punkb*tch, 'Cause I've seen it before, Punkb*tch, And I don't care anymore, Punkb*tch, And I just want you to know that we datin' mad models and poppin' mad bottles tonight), but the synth chord progressions are catchy, as are the heavily modified vocals. Sure, their intention might be to make fun of the lifestyles of hip-hop stars, but 3OH!3 actually help glorify that which they tried to shun.
Other stand-out songs on the album are Don’t Trust Me (on which the pair sing, “don’t trust a hoe, never trust a hoe” but also includes some original lyrics like, “tell your boyfriend, if he says he got beef, that I’m a vegetarian”); Starstrukk, with some more lyrics that are degrading to women but also with a rhythm you can’t deny; and Can’t Do It Alone, with great vocal syncopations but more crappy lyrics.
In the end, Want would be a remarkably good album if it weren’t for the irony that the singers’ irony doesn’t stand out. If they work harder on making their satire more obvious on the next album, it will definitely be worth buying. If you like hip-hop based electronica, you will no doubt enjoy this album immensely. Finally, I will admit that writing this review has been like therapy to remind me not to get too addicted to Want. Like I said earlier: the CD is a guilty pleasure where you know you shouldn't want more, but you will.