Malachai has been getting mostly positive press surrounding their debut album, The Ugly Side of Love, and it’s getting a U.S. release this year after already being out for a year in Europe. It makes me wonder if I’m missing something. Maybe their blending of samples and retro pop/rock genres is brilliant in ways that I haven’t noticed. This album does have some strong hooks and a few clever ideas, but deep down it’s one of the laziest and most useless albums I’ve heard in a while.

While “Warriors” gets the album off to a promising start, these guys are already getting on my nerves. It’s that goddamn, “Warriors, come out and play!” sample. First of all, it’s not the most sonically pleasing sample. Second, it makes me feel like the song is about nothing more than how much they liked the movie. The jazzy drums, soulful vocals and upbeat guitars don’t end up amounting to much. Things pick up with “Shitkicker,” which follows the same basic template, but has a quicker pace and no annoying 70s film samples. The song has a throwaway guitar solo towards the end that does little for the track. Both of these songs are all about the groove.

From there, things go downhill fast. “Shitkicker” feeds right into “Snake Charmer,” a clumsy stab at psychedelia that’s dominated by harpsichord and obnoxious singing. Thankfully, it’s only a minute long; unfortunately, it also serves a harbinger of things to come. There are a few other short songs on here, and they all sound like undeveloped ideas rather than the efficient songcraft that you see from bands like Wire and The Sadies. For instance, “Moonsurfin,” with just guitar and handclaps carrying the tune, sounds like a party jam rather than a real song. It’s followed by the dull instrumental, “Meech’s Theme.” Malachai even close the album with “Simple Song,” a short, boring tune. These tracks seem like they were thrown in to stretch the album beyond the half hour mark. They just didn’t have enough actual songs to make a standard length album.

The album is not entirely bereft of appeal. “Snowflake” has been covered in just about every review I have read and I can see why. This mid-tempo rocker is easily the strongest and most memorable song on the album. It has a simple straightforward melody, and the line, “I know what I want; I want off this roundabout!” is catchy. It’s fairly atypical of the rest of the songs on the album in it feels like a genuine attempt at a song. Sure, it also feels like a 70s rock throwback, but here the emulation sounds like it comes from a more genuine place. They only appear to get back into conventional rock territory with “How Long,” but the melody just isn’t there.

Ultimately, every song evokes memories of bygone days that I’m willing to bet 90% of this groups’ audience wasn’t even alive to experience. “Lay Down Stay Down” sounds like 70s TV theme music, and “Another Sun” is a nice 60s pop song. This combined with the pervasive fake vinyl scratches and the unnecessary samples the plague the album lead me to conclude that Malachai would rather have us admire their cultural prowess than enjoy their music. When you begin to pay attention, it all starts to feel insubstantial and pointless (a criticism that usually feels unfair, but seems appropriate here). Malachai may have hooks and inventive arrangements. But whatever else is needed to make good songs is missing.

Track List:
1. Warriors
2. Shitkicker
3. Snake Charmer
4. Snowflake
5. Blackbird
6. Moonsurfin'
7. Meech’s Theme
8. Only for You
9. Lay Down Stay Down
10. Another Sun
11. How Long
12. Fading World
13. Simple Song