This is a poppier album than most audiophiles will admit to listening to, but I love it. There are stronger tracks and weaker tracks, but the stronger tracks are really strong. If this were the sort of music that was played over the airwaves, you might actually find me listening to a radio.
The album also defies analysis, despite what I'm about to do here. On the one hand, careful listening will yield layers of interesting production work, and yet the lead vocals are almost always sung dry, without overt "overproduction", other than the occasional harmonizing (by utilizing contemporary multitrack recording techniques). One of the real production stars of this album is the drums. Those who aren't fans of audible production techniques will hate the overall sheen, but the drums have nice snap and thump to my ears.
The opening noise montage of "Within Earshot" is deceiving, the album doesn't really get going until the second track, "Freetime". I'm not sure what the point of "Within Earshot" is, but neither is it out of place. "Freetime", however, establishes the overall flavour of the album, with a bouncy rhythm, plaintive singing, and the occasional stop-start moment.
"Man Fading" has an almost "dub" production, yet one would never confuse this with reggae. There's a weird feedbacky-clavinet sound used as one of the main sounds that really stands out, and yet it feels totally in place.
"Sunday After You" starts off with another little bit of "alienware" -- weird abstract beatless noise montage, then the beat kicks in. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album -- mostly because of the break, where things drop to short standstill, and then build up to a nice climax.
"Vexed and Glorious" has a weird rhythm. There really is no other way to phrase it. It staggers and almost trips over itself while the rest of the song rolls along, aware of their drunken buddy, and making sure he gets home alright, but still enjoying a night of partying on the town.
Are you familiar with Depeche Mode's
Violator album? You know that weird piece of music after "Enjoy the Silence", I think it is? "A Better Control" is a lot like that. Also reminds me a little bit of one of Planet P Project's interludes (from
Pink World).
"Red Man" employs that same call and response type of singing with which you find yourself singing along. Good mid-tempo rocker. I'm going to just shut up and listen to it for a minute. Some songs just need to be heard, not described. This is one of them.
Okay, I'm back. "Hell Bent" starts out like it's going to be one of those delicate music-box ballads, but then this syncopated rhythm sort of crashes into you out of nowhere like a drunk camel on the other side of a tent canvas wall that you didn't see coming until it was too late.
Nice video, too.
Hey, come back, I wasn't done. This isn't going very well. I hate it when written things talk directly to the reader, don't you? I should stop.
"Yenek Ababa"
is a ballad -- primarily piano and vocals (and the solo is taken by a trumpet, I think). "Take me for the rose I am" sounds like such a self-important line, and yet it's sung with such humility that I have to believe it's meant differently than it sounds like it means. It's one of those songs that people who sing in the shower will find themselves singing. "
Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa (Go Slow)..." etc.
"War In Me" is a nice follow-up to a ballad, in that it starts off really simply, and without an overwhelming rhythm and builds up slowly.
The title track has a certain late-era Beatles-ness to it. Big George-Martin-esque production. Which makes it one of my least favourite tracks on the album (I'm not a big Beatles fan), but since it's not
actually the Beatles, I don't find it completely unlistenable. Plus, it's got a synthesizer solo, so all is not lost.
"I'm Gone" is another lesser number that doesn't motivate one to push the "skip track" button. It's alright I guess.
"Siren" does nothing special that can be described, and yet it just works. I want whoever programs some of his lead synth tones -- they're more guitar-like than anything else. All highly-bandwidth-reduced tones and distorted. Very clavinet-like.
"Love/Hate Sensation" is another song that should be hit material. If the radio was buried in tracks like this, I would listen to it. I really would.
Well, there you have it (doh!), my first ever blog post. Meh. May be my last, as well.
I don't think track-by-track was such a good idea...
