3Oh!3 - Want

Rating:

*

Perhaps all you need to know about this duo from Boulder, Colorado is this: they just finished touring Europe with Katy Perry.

Just like Perry, they create tactless, try-hard pop (though theirs steers towards electro punk hip-hop) that attempts to be controversial but is really just annoying. But where Perry tries to be provocative, 3Oh!3 go straight for shock tactics, shouting profanities at listeners, accompanied by an aggressive mash up of electro beats and rock riffs.

Indeed, they might be vaguely intimidating, were it not for the fact they are skinny, pasty white boys who would lose a fight with, well, most people.

That doesn't stop them from having a crack though, regularly telling girls to shut their mouths and other misogynistic retorts.

The pair almost appear to be a parody act, spoofing the barking raps of men much bigger and tougher than themselves, but are in fact, completely earnest in their attempts to be hip-hop stars.

Yes, they talk a lot of smack but unlike other acts, they lack the wit, intelligence or general grasp of the English language to get away with it.

Instead, they turn out a crashing 40-minute assault of moronic insights, such as "Won't trust a ho because a ho won't trust me," and "Little dogs will kill you dude, as soon as you let 'em out."

Joanna Hunkin