soulDecision

Today’s top pop acts don’t care much for subtlety. Instead, overproduced, irresistible hooks pummel their way into unsuspecting listeners’ heads. No matter how obnoxious, these songs cannot be ignored. “Faded,” soulDecision’s catchy first single from its debut album, requires a few listens to truly take hold, but its sincere white-boy pseudo-funk soon proves inescapable. And while the hit/miss ratio might not be in soulDecision’s favor, “Faded” isn’t the only worthwhile song on the album, which offers nods to soul and electronica. “Only in My Mind” sports a catchy falsetto chorus that brings to mind The Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man,” and “Next Time” sounds like a power-pop band being filtered through artificial sweetener. Nonetheless, the album’s title, No One Does It Better, overstates the band’s talents, but in soulDecision’s defense, countless acts do it worse, and much less politely so.