Jason Schwartzman was first known for being the drummer of the alternative rock band Phantom Planet. But Schwartzman left the band in the middle of their third album to try his luck as an actor. Since then he has made his mark on the film industry in movies such as "I Heart Huckabees" and "Marie Antoinette." Now he is back with a solo album called Nighttiming under the persona Coconut Records.
The two singles for Nighttiming are easily the best songs on the album. "West Coast" is a mournful anthem of Schwartzman's return to the west coast. "West Coast" shares a lot of qualities with Phantom Planet's biggest hit "California." Even the lyrics seem to be written in response to it. "And I miss you, I'm going back home to the west coast/ I wish you could put yourself in my suitcase," as opposed to "California's" "California here we come/ Right back where we started from/ California/ Here we come."
The title track, "Nighttiming," sounds like a mix between 70's disco and 80's new age music, but somehow the result is good. The first impression I got of this song was bad, but I came around to the extremely catchy chorus and music. "Summer Day," appeared on the soundtrack for "Spiderman 3." In fact, costar Kirsten Dunst sings the background vocals throughout the song.
Nighttiming has lots of different sounds, from Weezer-esque rock songs to a unique type of indie pop rock. There are a lot of acoustic jingles like "This Old Machine," "Slowly," and "Mamma," none of which are good enough to give much attention to. Many songs on the album don't surpass three minutes long, and all twelve songs on the album barely run thirty-three minutes. Some notable songs are "Minding My Own Business" and my personal favorite "It's Not You It's Me."
Nighttiming is only available online and is not sold in stores. This CD may not be for anyone who wants really introspective music, but it is good for easy listening and on some songs, rocking out.
