Gym Class Heroes - The Quilt

The Quilt (2008, Fueled By Ramen) Gym Class Heroes' second studio album. **1/2

Either Gym Class Heroes are idiots who think they're way cooler and way better than they actually are, or they're pulling one of the greatest pranks in music history. McCoy talks a big game throughout the album without ever treading upon lyrics that make any of what he's saying sound true or even interesting. Even on The Quilt's first track, his first words are "Ladies and gentlemen," a cliche used so much in rap that scoffing is almost a natural reaction. It's a fictional court case that's impossible to follow, and that's a trend that unfortunately plagues almost all of The Quilt.

He pulls a Limp Bizkit-like approach to rapping when he repeats the same words for the chorus, "Papa was a rolling stone/But I want to be the cover of a Rolling Stone." I doubt that McCoy or any of the band members took a music class - and I don't require it of musicians - but one of the most obvious things is to never rhyme a phrase with the exact same phrase. And "Cookie Jar" is even cheesier when he gets to likening women of different ethnicities to treats; "Butter pecan Puerto Ricans/Or them oatmeal raisin Asians/Hazelnut Brazilians/Macadamia Caucasians." Oh, the line between being clever and ridiculously stupid is so fine!

Despite McCoy's total failure to write a decent line, the music is actually quite good. It's such a shame that it all fell into his hands. The trumpet flourish of "Guilty as Charged," the innocent guitar and piano of "Like Father, Like Son," the Latin influence of "Blinded by the Sun," or the whining synths of "Cookie Jar," (not to mention the Dream's excellent cameo appearance and untouched falsetto vocal performance) are all musically competent. Hell, they're downright brilliant. The best moment is stuttering keyboards that guide the honestly catchy chorus of "Catch Me If You Can."

It's a strange album, because while the band should be commended for making a relatively clean album (usually devoid of unneeded profanity) and is made in the spirit of fun, the second half of the album immediately following "Cookie Jar" falls into uninteresting filler. The first half, while fascinating musically, is dragged down by McCoy's beyond idiotic rhymes. Think of it this way, if Kanye had written the lyrics for the first half of the album, it'd probably be terrific. It can definitely be enjoyed, just make sure to never, ever think about anything McCoy says throughout its duration.