Calling the World
by Rooney

Album details

US: 17 July 2007 on Geffen
UK: IMPORT ONLY

The L.A. power-pop outfit led by Robert Schwartzman finally returns with a follow-up to their 2003 debut, following two aborted recording attempts. John Fields (Andrew W.K., Switchfoot) produced.

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The critical consensus

Exclaim! loves Rooney’s "catchy summer rock tunes," and the Hartford Courant, too, hears music designed for the current season, declaring, "Like a chocolate-dip cone, this disc’s not built to last, but good luck finding a sweeter summer indulgence." Paste notes "there’s a growing self-awareness here that keeps Rooney within its comfort zone." All Music Guide finds the album solid, not spectacular: "Calling the World might not be radically inventive, but its solid songcraft and playful shout-outs to rock history are a lot of fun." Similarly, Entertainment Weekly enjoys the disc’s "big, brash production," even if it sometimes lands on the side of "cheesy."

Speaking of cheese, IGN, too, uses the word, as a whole mostly disliking an album with "a bland soft-rock tone that feels incredibly boring." (Prefix, too, was bored by the disc.) Artist direct laments that Rooney "cannot write a good chorus," and Chart Attack pans the album for sounding "uninspired and recycled." PopMatters comments that the "forgettable" songs have no staying power, and that the band is in a "holding pattern." And many of the album’s detractors bemoan Calling The World’s lack of originality. After comparing Rooney to Billy Squier and Journey, Billboard’s Katie Hasty concludes "there aren’t enough original ideas here to know if Rooney can shine as a relevant, modern rock band."

Rooney are talented masters of classy rock pop and these songs are worth the prolonged wait.

- Sari Delmar, Exclaim!

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Calling The World
2. When Did Your Heart Go Missing?
   
   
3. I Should’ve Been After You
4. Tell Me Soon
5. Don’t Come Around Again
6. Are You Afraid?
7. Love Me Or Leave Me
8. Paralyzed
9. What For
10. All In Your Head
11. Believe In Me
12. Help Me Find My Way

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• Rooney @ MySpace