Andrew W.K.

Andrew W.K.'s debut album, I Get Wet, was such a crystalline example of dumb fun that it raised an unusual set of questions: Is this guy serious, or is he being ironic? And, if he's being ironic, does that mean it's wrong to like it so much? W.K. (short for Wilkes-Krier) preaches the gospel of good times on songs that combine hair-metal riffs and pop melodies into a straight shot of adrenaline. Much like the Ramones, W.K. is smart enough to know the value of keeping things simple, and his songs rely on little more than a few choice power chords, lunkheaded lyrics, and the constant feeling that he's having way more fun than you are. Like, all the time. Exhibit A: Three of 12 songs on I Get Wet have "party" in the title, including "It's Time to Party," "Party Til You Puke," and the pop-metal masterpiece "Party Hard." Even when he gets sentimental, he's still in character. In "She Is Beautiful," he says little more than "She is beautiful!/The girl is beautiful!" repeated ad nauseam.

If I Get Wet was W.K.'s Ziggy Stardust, The Wolf is Aladdin Sane: He's still in character, but the songs simply aren't as great. On "Long Live the Party," W.K. hollers, "You cannot kill the party," but the truth is that you can. Without the kind of killer hooks he used on I Get Wet, the headbanging licks and goofy motivational lyrics start to wear thin. He assumes a Queen-like grandiosity on the ballad "Never Let Down," which provides a welcome change of pace. But W.K. has so fully inhabited the character he's created that even he doesn't seem to know anymore where the line is between honesty and irony. (JENNY ELISCU)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide