Not worth it. Take a look at this video - it's their performance of "Kind of Girl" on Rock After Dark:
Yeah.
I wanted so badly to like them, I really did. Hanson's been my all-time favorite band since I was 10 years old, and they're a great favorite band for a number of reasons (post on this coming later). So when I heard that Taylor Hanson was doing a side project, the first thing I thought of was that time I waited in line to see them in New Hampshire (yes, I drove from Connecticut) and sat there for about six hours in a misty rain and had usual conversation with the regular Fansons. One mother said that she won a lunch with Tyler Hilton, who opened for Hanson a few years ago, and Tyler said Taylor would be better off doing his own thing. Um, after hearing Tinted Windows, I disagree.
Tinted Windows is a power pop superband that's made up of Taylor Hanson, James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne, and Bun E. Carlos, the drummer of Cheap Trick. It's a weird grouping, as the band admitted in a Spin interview. Because of each member's success in other bands, one would think they would gather some old fans for this new group. They might, but it's going to be hard because this sound is different from all their former groups, except for maybe Fountains of Wayne, which has a little more power pop. However, all the "Whoa-ohs" from Taylor and James sound very strained and just look weird coming from them. Even the song feels superficial, a song about "the kind of girl you can't get enough of ... whoa-oh." There's really not much to it, and it really makes you question the motives of these talented musicians from rather successful bands.
Because Hanson is my favorite band, I do wish Taylor the best of luck. Who knows? Maybe they'll catch on. All those bands do have dedicated fan bases, and there could be a market for shallow attempts at power pop where the drummer is way too good for the rest of the band. But for this Fanson, who does enjoy other music by the way, it's just not good.
