ETC’s debut album full of popolicious fun

ETC “No Punctuation Necessary”

**** out of 5

There comes a time when certain fads get so ridiculously popular that they simply cannot be ignored any longer. Another of those fads has found its way to Mount Pleasant. Ladies and gentlemen, CMU now has its own boy band!!!
In a world full of Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync rip-off artists (are you listening, LFO?), ETC is out to prove to the world that they’re an original and legitimate threat to the pop charts.
Favre, Tyrone, Ethan, Chazz, and DJ Knice are hipper than “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and they’re not afraid to flex their musical muscle when necessary.
ETC’s debut CD, “No Punctuation Necessary,” is slickly engineered, well written and full of really catchy pop hooks. Imagine a stripped down Blink 182 record with 5 young male heartthrob voices, and you’ve got the basic idea of the sound here.
However, if you get the impression that ETC is nothing but straight-ahead bubble gum pop, think again. The band sparsely uses some blistering guitar work as well as a few german industrial-like dance beats to put some meat on this plate.
Every track is blissfully short, as all good pop songs should be. ETC believes in the “sweet and to the point” school of songwriting, with the average song length at just under three minutes.
The band’s first single, “Jump Space,” plays like a tribute to Timbaland as much as it is a boy band single. Despite the rhythmic similarities, Ethan’s amazing range couples with the off-time rests and rapid beat patterns to create a sound that is all ETC.
The rest of the band kicks in with amazing harmonies on a soaring chorus which could redefine the musical concept of the “Wall of Sound.”
Another possible single is the ultra-heavy, “I Don’t Eat Meat,” Chazz’s arena rock anthem for vegetarianism.
Of course, this is a boy band, so there has to be an obligatory sad love song. “Turquoise Girls,” is a four minute ballad surrounding a band member’s recently failed romance with a psychology major. Favre’s solemn crooning is a reminder to us all that we should all find time in the day to eat our vegetables, do our homework, and tell our loved ones that we care about them.
As a bonus to patient listeners, “No Punctuation Necessary” features an a capella hidden track, “Black Bar Pant Blues.” ETC’s vocal capabilities really shine on this track, closing out the CD in an amazingly proper manner.
“No Punctuation Necessary” is a surprisingly pleasant trip into contemporary pop. Boy bands of the future could take a cue from ETC, spending less time posing for a camera and more time writing well-structured songs.