Chester French are kind of undeniable, which is good because you’ll probably want to deny them. Harvard brats bankrolled by Pharrell, singer D.A. Wallach and multi-instrumentalist Max- well Drummey joke about the whores knocking on their door amid Beach Boys melodies that usually signify innocent wonderment (a recent Clinton Sparks mixtape titled Jacques Jams — heh, heh — amps up their rap cred with Bun B and Pusha T appearances, as well as their self-aware dork side via “Nerd Girl,” featuring R&B future-freak Janelle Monaacute;e). And despite groaners like “She craves affection, so I use protection,” their major-label debut gets by on smarmy-smooth suburban- pop melodies, cheeky genre mash-ups, and good bad jokes. After they high-five themselves for scoring a “Puerto Rican Pamela Lee,” maybe they’ll even graduate to having something to say.
