William Tell - 'You Can Hold Me Down'

I hate it when bands implode. Case in point: Something Corporate. Arguably one of the strongest piano rock groups of the new millennium, the perpetually touring band finally took a hiatus in 2004, and a swell of con artists like The Rocket Summer and Mêlée have risen up in the band’s absence. Meanwhile, SoCo’s primary songwriting team of frontman/pianist Andrew McMahon and lead guitarist Josh Partington have focused their attentions on a side project, Jack’s Mannequin. With Something Corporate stalled, rhythm guitarist William Tell, whose songwriting skills were severely underutilized in SoCo, opted to pursue a solo career in 2004. On the plus side, the split has proven amicable, as demonstrated by Tell’s finally-released solo debut, You Can Hold Me Down. The album boasts strong performances from McMahon, SoCo drummer Brian Ireland and, of course, Tell himself.

At 10 tracks, You Can Hold Me Down walks the middle between the soft-spoken singer/songwriter style of Howie Day and the slick pop rock of Something Corporate. Light and tuneful, it makes for good summer music.

The album opens with the mid-tempo rocker “Jeannie.” Tell proves himself a VH1-ready singer on this track while Ireland, who performs percussion on the entire album, ably keeps time and bashes around a bit. “Jeannie” is an atypical rock song about a girl who finds love in all the wrong places, but it’s got a winning formula.

Potential single “Slipping Under (Sing Along to Your Favorite Song)” follows “Jeannie,” and while it veers into extra-rote territory, it’s still catchy. But it does mark the first half of the album’s shift towards a more Starbucks-y singer/songwriter style, one which is further propagated by track three, “Trouble.” You Can Hold Me Down’s weakest track, “Trouble” is painfully melodramatic, something that Tell later further exudes on lame numbers like “Like You, Only Sweeter” and “Maybe Tonight.” Amid all this melodrama, though, is track four, “Fairfax (You’re Still the Same).”

“Fairfax” is three-fifths of a SoCo song. It’s got Tell, Ireland and a special guest appearance from McMahon on piano. Oddly present beneath the three is the beatboxing of Ryan Tedder, which is annoyingly spread throughout the song. Regardless, “Fairfax” is a slightly funky, mostly fun Something Corporate tune for fans who miss Something Corporate.

The rest of You Can Hold Me Down’s middle sags a bit. Tell and SoCo can both deliver quality pop, but this stuff is too heavy on the fluff. Things start to get interesting again, though, with track seven, “Young at Heart,” but really take off on the following song, “Sounds.”

Originally released online to SoCo fans as “Radio Sound,” “Sounds” details Tell’s mixed feelings about leaving Something Corporate, among other things, and it is unquestionably the best song on all of You Can Hold Me Down. It rocks like a Jimmy Eat World single, with a closing chorus that is truly righteous, blending a cornucopia of voices into a wall of delicious sound. The album then gradually cools off with its last two tracks, “Just For You” and “You Can Hold Me Down.” But while they don’t quite top “Sounds,” they’re still mighty anthemic.

You Can Hold Me Down is a tight album, unfurling 10 tracks in 32 minutes. While at times too predictable, it does reveal Tell was an untapped talent during his Something Corporate days. Tracks like “Sounds” and “Jeannie” are ready-made summer anthems begging to be played at the beach.