Contents Under Pressure

There are a slew of factors hurting Illinois rock group Contents Under Pressure before even popping in their latest effort, Just Another Bad Day. First off, the name doesn’t exactly inspire those who hear it. Plus, it abbreviates to CUP. Thanks to the Internet, I associate cups with lady shit. Then there’s the cover, featuring a meteor hurtling towards a computer-generated city. Looks like someone’s been taking digital art night classes.

These are superfluous reasons to dump on the band, though. CUP’s biggest drawback is its music. Torn somewhere between hard rock riffage and string-basted power ballads, CUP will sound incredible if you really, really like patrolling sports bars for tang. I’ll give credit where credit’s due and say that some of these songs (“Me and My Broken Heart,” “Where Did We Go Wrong”) have some sick guitar parts. The solos are ridiculous; even the verses and choruses are powerful. Guitarists Brad Guidera and David Cannek are talented. Same goes for drummer Jeff Lareau. Dude’s beats are intense and his intricate fills, while astounding, never overwhelm the song.

But as a whole, Just Another Bad Day is unspectacular. Quality shredding can’t save lame lyrics about women (sample line from “My Baby”: “And I love her / She loves me / I think that she’s been tellin’ lies.”). Further complicating the matter is the radical shift in tone the songs sometimes take. Referring again to “My Baby,” the tune goes from hard rock to Starbucks balladeer to hard rock again before finding a power ballad middle ground. So while I can get behind CUP’s fondness for cock rock (it’s dumb, but at least it’s fun), I’m bewildered by their more over-earnest moments.

On a technical level, Contents Under Pressure is pretty talented. On a songwriting level, though, they need lots of work. The first thing that needs to go is the string section. Strings ruined better bands like Guns N’ Roses and Oasis, and they’re sure not helping here. Keep the soft rock bits for variety, but maybe rework ‘em a bit to avoid jarring the listener. After that, try finding a new topic to sing about. I don’t know…equestrianism or something. But keep the riffs. Those are always good.