Album Review: Hot Chelle Rae - Lovesick Electric

HOT CHELLE RAE
LOVESICK ELECTRIC
(RCA/Jive)
www.hotchellerae.com

Does admitting I like Hot Chelle Rae mean that I instantly lose my indie cred? If Pitchfork can support bands like Fall Out Boy, surely that can't be the only emo pop band that indie kids are allowed to like, can it? Let's hope not, because the band's debut album, Lovesick Electric, is actually fun, catchy, and, yes, you can dance to it.

The album starts with a catchy tune, "Say (Half Past Nine)" is catchy and ready for the dance floor, but it is the second track "I Like To Dance" (coincidentally also the album's first single) that would really start the booty shakin'. "Queen of the Scene" sounds like an upper east side club anthem for Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl. The only downside of this record is that the whole thing isn't exactly boogie ready. "Bleed" and "The Distance" are the closest things on here to a ballad, and they sort of break up a lot of the energy. A few downers aside Lovesick continues the tradition of dance rock that started with post punk and eventually took off into space on a Cobra Starship. It might be a guilty pleasure for the indie rock kids, but there's really nothing to feel guilty about.