Nothing Here Is Perfect in Bloomington, MN

The second full-length by Pennsylvania
emo
quintet
Movies with Heroes
(under this band name, that is: they previously spent a number of years saddled with the truly awful name
Mack, the Coffee Man
) has several good things going for it. Foremost among these is bassist and keyboardist
Jeff Royer
, who decorates the songs with catchy vintage synth riffs and neo-
new wave
electronic
beats; the main hook of the album-opening
"Wake Up"
recalls
the Killers
, and that's a good thing. There are also several catchy choruses to be found on
Nothing Here Is Perfect
, particularly the aforementioned
"Wake Up,"
"Wildflowers,"
and
"Need It Now,"
and the part-acoustic
ballad
closer
"Miracle Drug"
suggests an interesting new direction for future exploration. However, true to the self-deprecating album title, singer and lyricist
Keith Wilson
has nothing new to say and a particularly anonymous, dull way of saying it, and the group rarely moves beyond the
Emo
101 playbook in terms of tunes and arrangements. As a result, the album never rises above pleasant efficiency. ~ Stewart Mason