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(More customer reviews)Historically, whenever actors have tried their hand at being rock stars, things haven't faired so well (see David Hasselhoff, Don Johnson and Keanu Reeves). In the case of Jason Schwartzman, things are a little different. First, this isn't his first foray into the music gig; he played the skins in the moderately successful band Phantom Planet. Secondly, Schwartzman's acting career has earned him some solid indie cred in the film world. So, it's certainly feasible that he could churn out a solo project that might get taken seriously in the music scene.
At least in the case of the aforementioned mega-stars turned wanna-be rockers, there was novelty value (the very notion that they were trying to be musicians was entertaining enough). Schwartzman, however, is actually talented enough to be taken seriously as a musician, so there's no novelty value in his first Coconut Records outing, Nighttiming. To the contrary, in fact - it's a self-consciously serious affair. The problem is, it feels more like a tour de indie rather than a sincere, cohesive collection of tunes. The album opens with a cinematic introduction, and the record is sprinkled with similar segues and interludes throughout its brief run time of 30-some minutes. It's almost like the soundtrack to a non-existent indie flick, the kind Jason would star in.
The faux soundtrack ambience would work a lot better if there was any sense of continuity from song to song. But there isn't. Take first single (and hands-down best track on the record) "West Coast." It's a gorgeous, bittersweet pop number with an infectious hook and the most sincere-sounding sentiments on the disc. Following that up is the hammy, blatantly Weezer-aping "Back to You," which, aside from being the cheesiest song of the lot, is the only song of its kind in this uneven collection. Then we get the art-folk of "Summer Sun," a pretty ballad but once again, totally out of sync with the neighboring tracks. The album's title track suddenly finds Schwartzman doing his best Julian Casablancas impression, with equally Strokes-y disco beats and guitar riffs. This could have been another saving grace for the album, except that its plagued by a painfully childish rhyme scheme - something that kills the mood of other potentially decent tracks elsewhere in the set.
All in all, I expected more from such a cool, talented dude. But then again, the album feels like an act; he's stepping into the shoes of his indie-rock influences and doing a pretty good job - you can tie each song to pretty much one artist's direct influence. If Schwartzman can manage to make his music more believable and incorporate his influences in a subtle way rather than wear them on his sleeve, he's got the basic ingredients to make the next Coconut Records release truly engaging and original. The shining gem "West Coast" is evidence of that.
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Nighttiming is the debut release from Coconut Records, aka Jason Schwartzman. This is Schwartzman's first musical project since Phantom Planet. Nighttiming was produced by Mike Einziger of Incubus.
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