REVIEW - MKTO - MKTO

When I first started listening to MKTO, I picked them up through an Australian blog. Their debut single “Thank You” was climbing the charts, eventually reaching #2. I looked them up and was surprised to see the two formed in LA, where they’re from. After just one track, it was clear that the duo was poised to become the new radio hit factory. Now if they could just replicate the success in the US…

Not only did “Thank You” do well, but follow up singles “Classic” and “God Only Knows” reached numbers nine and eleven, respectively. Not too shabby for a debut album, although it should be noted that neither of the latter singles lasted terribly long.

‘MKTO’, an unconfusing name for an album, is a collection of shiny, plastic-y pop-rap, the likes of which we haven’t heard in years. While these are the sorts of songs that may do well down under on mainstream radio, they’d be more at home on the Disney Channel here in the US. The most offensive things get are on the lead single, where the team protests about how us young people will be alright, even if our parents messed everything up. It’s a catchy tune alright--it’s just a shame I don’t know any 14 year olds to share it with.

Listen to: “Thank You”, “Classic”, and...some more if you really feel like it.