I Am the World Trade Center

The romance of I Am the World Trade Center bandmates Amy Dykes and Dan Gellar disintegrated during the recording of The Cover Up, and the evidence is all over this dance-pop slab. Dykes devotes her slightly blasé, slightly off-the-rails vocals to lyrics that imply secret lovers unveiled, uncomfortable standoffs and...

By Ray Cummings

September 2, 2004

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The romance of I Am the World Trade Center bandmates Amy Dykes and Dan Gellar disintegrated during the recording of The Cover Up, and the evidence is all over this dance-pop slab. Dykes devotes her slightly blasé, slightly off-the-rails vocals to lyrics that imply secret lovers unveiled, uncomfortable standoffs and the bitterest of men's-room graffiti: "If you're looking for a good time, call me tonight/If you're looking for a good time, call me, all right?" Yet Dykes sounds so detached from the topic that when the title track burbles, "Running through the night/From a losing fight," the dance-floor drama seems to mask a more mundane dnouement. The appearance of dishonesty is more interesting than the reality of simple disagreement, and as Ace of Base proved with "All That She Wants," club fodder can weep and still make us shimmy. The Cover Up achieves both. And as all those hyperactive, shiny Mega Man II keyboards glow and pulse and whoosh, sorting out the whole mess feels less important than moronically nodding one's head like Will Ferrell in A Night at the Roxbury. To help I Am the World Trade Center's Amy Dykes with medical expenses related to her fight with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the folks behind Britpop/New Wave dance night Panic! will hold a benefit concert, Panicfest!, on Sunday, September 5. Silent Gray, Mighty Six-Ninety, The Reflection, The Pacific, Brodie Hubbard, Futurekind, Colorstore, and DJ Manchester are scheduled to perform. Admission is $8 for ages 21 and older, and the event starts at 8 p.m. at Anderson's Fifth Estate in Scottsdale.

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