Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

New Radicals: Gregg Alexander (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, synthesizer, bass, drums); Paolo Degregorio (guitar, synthesizer); Allessandro Allessandroni (strings); Greg Phillinganes, Richard Knowles, Paul Gordon, Mitch Kaplan (piano); John Pierce, Lance Morrison, Dan Rothchild (bass); John Freese, Gary Fergusson, Josh Freese, Stuart Johnson, Tal Bergman, Matt Laug (drums); Juliet Prater, Richie Podler, Lenny Castro (percussion).
Additional personnel: Rusty Anderson (guitar); Danielle Brisebois (piano, background vocals); Paul Bushnell (bass).
Engineers include: Bob Wartinbee, Bill Cooper, Andre Berryman.
On their debut MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED TOO, New Radicals meld sweeping hooks with aggressive harmonies and large dollops of stream-of-consciousness soul. Wunderkid Gregg Alexander is essentially New Radicals, with a voice that bounces between Karl Wallinger's husky rasp and Billy Corgan's nasal whine. His songs go by such odd monikers as "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You" and "Crying Like a Church On Monday." Having grown up with parents who switched religions like most people changed channels, it's no accident that Alexander avoids using heavy-handed didactic aphorisms to get his point across. Instead, his songwriting ranges from a tilt towards life's great mysteries (Amelia Earhardt's disappearance and the existence of Atlantis on "Someday We'll Know") to extolling the virtues of individualism in the face of media overload (the title track).
Throughout, New Radicals play with an exuberance reminiscent of Style Council's breezier moments ("Mother We Just Can't Get Enough") and the blue-eyed soulful side of Todd Rundgren ("In Need Of A Miracle.") Actress-cum-musician Danielle Brisebois contributes background vocals and piano and stands out particularly on the melancholy "I Don't Wanna Die Anymore."