The Controls - One Hundred

Arizona Daily Wildcat

One Hundred

(Sm:)e)

The Controls are a nice idea, in theory: a couple of 21-year-old New York kids go on a blind date and end up starting a band. In execution, however, their debut album falls flat. One Hundred sounds like an attempt to duplicate Portishead's revolutionary Dummy, but fails to sound anything like Dummy . Ann Colville's top-heavy lyrics resemble bad high-school poetry; Dub-L's instrumentation is bland and predictable. Some mediocre rapper whom the Controls apparently owed a favor makes an unwelcome appearance on two tracks, one of which, "Shere Khan," is unforgivably, torturously long. And, sadly, "Shere Khan" exemplifies the problem with this album: supported by too few ideas and not enough innovation, it serves as an homage to Portishead more than a creative effort in its own right - an homage that Portishead could do without. One Hundred is terribly one-note. - tony carnevale