What is it about prog- mod- fug- rock that makes it such a pass- or- fail proposition? Perhaps it's the epic sound so rarely accompanied by credibly decent lyrics. Perhaps it's the fear of "art" that drives many prog-rockers to grab at the rusty ring of a pop hook? Maybe it's the daunting realization that angst and regret have been done a million times before by great artists. Maybe it's the drugs. Well, maybe not. Anyway, who really cares?

You care about Headswim's Despite Yourself, you say? Well, they fall prey to all of the contentions mentioned above. Just a hair over average musically and plain ol' weak lyrically, Despite Yourself limps along like a three-legged dog, occasionally tossing us the ass-flavored milk-bone of a misfit pop hook here and there. And it posesses what I consider the Most Annoying Chorus Of The Week: "The hype is as high / As an elephant's eye," repeated ad nauseam. Ugh. It's pansy-boy prog-rock. There are no risks, no innovation and little creativity. Let's keep the progressive in prog-rock boys! It's not prole-rock yet! Take some risks, fer chrissakes! It's not absolute shit, but quite frankly I recommend Mansun's Attack of the Grey Lantern over this any day.

-James P. Wisdom