Only Sleep from Tokyo

Brooklyn has some cool things going for it. A great night life, a flourishing music scene, and rumor has it even gangs with machetes. With the recent cultural explosion emitting from the borough, power-pop band Hello Tokyo has decided to grace the music scene with their presence. Unfortunately, they’re not one of the highlights of Brooklyn.

Sell the Stars, Hello Tokyo’s debut album, trudges through mediocrity for 41 minutes. Aspiring for pop-rock stardom, lead singer Kat Kihler leads her rag tag team of musicians into known territory with predictable guitar riffs and boring song writing. For the pop genre, Sell the Stars is great. It never deviates from the mass appeal of guitar distortion and keyboard ambiance. However, every song sound almost exactly the same as the last. To differentiate the title track ‘Sell the Stars’ from ‘Midnight Snack’ musically is a difficult task. Other than the lyrics, both tracks mimic each other. Kihler uses the echo button on her mike way too much, and the steady bass beat keeps going from track to track. The album is almost like one long, dull track that won’t stop.

Kihler’s voice is the only grace on Sell the Stars. Her smooth, silky voice glides through the monotone beats her band produces. It’s a voice that would draw most to give the album a listen, but it can’t hold attention for longer than three tracks. Even her unique voice fails to surprise as the album continues and eventually falls into the same pattern as the rest of the band. The only song that stands out for Kihler and her band is the last track ‘I Spy.’ Kilher’s voice enchants listeners to pay attention and the band decides to take a step out of sameness and into something a little different. It’s actually fitting that ‘I Spy’ is the last track, since it’s start signifies the end to this humdrum experience. Kihler might sound alluring, but Sell the Stars is not.

Amy Dittmeier