CD Review

It is impossible to deny the fact that Renee Lamoureux and Keith Macpherson, who make up the Canadian pop/rock duo Easily Amused, are passionate musicians. The two have performed nearly 400 shows over the past two years and have kept the bus rolling in 2004. They rock crowds in places like Plateville, Wisconsin and Fayette, Iowa. For this, I salute them. For their latest record, Simple Stuff, I have many reservations.

Produced by Creighton Doane, Simple Stuff sounds curiously slick for a pair of independent musicians. On “Predictable,” a tune that the Barenaked Ladies could probably turn into a hit, Macpherson sings, “Every day has the same view/No anticipating a breakthrough/And I’m so predictable/I’m so predictable lately.” And unfortunately, much is too predictable about this disc and its incessant search for catchy hooks. What’s worse is that the first three songs, “No One’s Fool,” Only A Girl,” and “Colleen,” fail to provide any momentum for the only radio-worthy tune, “Better That Way,” which is buried near the end of the album.

It is my consensus that too much is being asked out of these songs; the honest songwriting of Lamoureux and Macpherson just doesn’t add up to creating a powerful pop sound. I couldn’t agree more with Lamoureux when she sings on the title track, “I’m not asking you to get all hyped/The simple stuff would be nice.” Something tells me that they have it in them to deliver just that. They could always name their next album Simpler Stuff, right?