Realism is positioning itself as some kind of addendum piece against the Fields' last release, Distortion, a beautifully constructed Jesus And Mary Chain-influenced fuzz-toned jam which painted its portraits against the backdrop of a snowed-out unreceptive television. I think all Stephin Merritt fans understood that this was a one-off experiment for the group and that he would, in the future, continue experimenting with his baroque pop sensibilities and Leonard-Cohen-on-ludes songwriting.
And Realism does see us escape from the electric guitar clutches and back to quieter and far more expensive pieces of instrumentation. One writer compared this album to something older from their catalog, and that's fair, stylistically. But I'm afraid that Stephin has regressed too far back into his unintellectualized, innocent youth to write short, simple chordal maneuvers with even easier lyrics that would make the Black Eyed Peas roll their eyes. I'm overdramatizing just a bit, but in the end, I'm more than a little disappointed that we've forgotten how far we'd come.
And Realism isn't even an honest title. This album is draped with the same dreamy cityscape backdrop behind its themes of love and loss and longing that has always provided the band's raison d'être. It's not like Stephin's newest hit song is ever going to be, "In All Honesty, I'm Really Quite Content", but why pretend this is something it's not. Maybe because the last few records, 69 Love Songs, i and Distortion had that gimmick around them. True, there's no gimmick here. There's also no substance. Maybe that's why the stick figure girl on the cover is empty.
But there are some keepers. "Seduced And Abandoned" is a quaint harpsichord led waltz. It returns to its chorus after every verse, which is usually enough to make me believe that we're just wasting time. But here, it feels like a sing-along. Like we're supposed to be picking up more court jesters each time. And the last track, "From A Sinking Boat" is a simple folk drone. Like a sea shanty with its accordion. About a letter author writing his vows before the waves overtake him. Grab those, but know that your percentage of fun is much higher on 69 Love Songs. (2.5 of 5 stars)
...or maybe the artist is Final Fantasy... it depends on where you're getting your product. Owen has had some issues with the video game people, so it seems like iTunes is just getting the inevitable out of the way. Owen wants to surely make his own name anyway.
Your first inclination is to make the Rufus Wainwright comparisons. Owen's voice often has an operatic quality and there's a grand baroque pop sensibility making the thing fierce as all get out. The strings are often quite overpowering, but I also like that quality about Rufus. But that all dissipates after track three.
A difference is that Owen layers all of his songs rich overlayer with an electronic subtext. The Philharmonic playing along to a drum machine and synthesized chords. That part didn't work for me, nor did the parts where Owen tones it down to Beck-mumble level. It became less mopey-cool and just dynamicless, which is a word I just made up. His monotone can reach ridiculous levels, like on "The Great Elsewhere", which sounds like Christopher Cross got an industrial hard on.
And like all orchestral pop "composers", Owen breaks out his inner-Brian Wilson to make a Pet Sounds influenced "Lewis Takes Action". It's got all the string plucks and melody crossfading of "God Only Knows", but without the warmth of the Brothers.
It didn't even take me 3/4th of the record to determine that Owen is little more than Adult Contemporary for the hipster crowd. Pitchfork can suck 86% of my dick.
It was right about the time of this realization that the most exciting track came up. "Flare Gun", as an instrumental, would be a great Bond theme song. Even Owen's placid/I-just-woke-up vocal doesn't weigh it down. He could stand to hire Shirley Bassey though. Far too little too late, though. (2 of 5 stars)
I have no idea what would distinguish Katharine from any other white girl pop singer whose name isn't Kelly, but I'll give her this- it's produced right. It's not over the top with Timbaland beats and pop excess. It's more adult contemporary pop. A song co-written by McPhee even has a Alicia Keys feel (missing some soulful vocal). "Surrender" would not be out of place thematically from my own Xmas release.
There's lots of piano, acoustic guitar, some light strings. Decibels rarely exceed balladry. The songwriting quality varies. A good minor chord riff in "Faultline" gives us an achy chorus, but then is immediately followed by the rudimentary "Anybody's Heart". "Lifetime" is trying to be cute and Feist-y, but ends up sounding silly with the breathy hook and the repetitive word verses.
I had to listen to something. It could have been worse (2 of 5 stars)
While the playlist above says 1-10, it's actually in "Countdown" order, so that the best song is last. Also, it's important to note that KISS is stingy with their on-line finds, so just know that "I'm An Animal" should be on this list too. Let's begin. (song titles link to lyrics / artist links to awesome youtube videos)
10. No One Loves Me & Neither Do I - Them Crooked Vultures The first of FIVE side-projects on the list. This one is by far the dirtiest. The tale of emotionless people having selfish filthy baseless sex. Full of clever entendres- single, double, and the rare trois entendre, the main draw is the full stoner jam. If you're not convinced at first, stick around to around till the end for the song to really deliver the full fist.
9. I Do Not Hook Up - Kelly Clarkson I stopped being embarrassed of my love for Kelly a couple of albums ago. And its hard not to agree with me once you realize that she is singing directly to me on this one. Someone who will nurse this poor boy back to health from the mess left by the others before her. Perfect for a victim-card-playing drama queen like myself. Plus, how do you escape that hook?
8. Future In The Past - Chickenfoot A real "kitchen sink" song. The last track on an awesome album, they really just tackle what the hadn't already on the rest. But like the rest of the album, the song is very cohesive. All parts moving equally. Sammy doesn't over-yelp, Joe doesn't over-shred, etc. It's got a really early '70s vibe, like Mountain or Cream. The track starts off with a near-ripoff of "Thank You" before quickly jumping to a swamp blues riff. Next movement goes into some middle east jungle boogie before ending on a huge arena-rock jam. It's simple- the points are not deep, but I still get the goose bumps.
7. Cornerstone - Arctic Monkeys A pathetic story really. Rock star gets all the tail in the world and always blows it by asking if he can call them your name. We all have our days of pining and shouldn't be especially proud of it, but Alex Turner has a real way of describing his surroundings that brings a realness to the tale.
6. A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson Simple pop awesomeness. I actually was not impressed with Brendan's album in whole, but this first song sticks in my head in a way that Paul McCartney was always trying to do in Wings, but failed. Plus, I like the indecisiveness of the song's protagonist. "I fell in love with you and out of love with you and back in love with you all in the same day" Exactly. Us crazies gotta stick together.
5. Peacemaker - Green Day I thought in general, that Green Day's latest album was an attempt to capitalize on the stupid crazy huge (and deserved) success of American Idiot. It's still about youthful alienation and government control. Fine. But it's not as cohesive or hooky and there was just not enough reason to continue down the EXACT same path. Having said that, "Peacemaker" is high water mark in Green Day's creativity. Still tip-tapping on their punk roots but adding what, samba? I'm surprised Ennio Morricone is not a co-writer.
4. 15- Marilyn Manson No I'm not kidding. Manson very famously got dumped by Evan Rachel Wood in 2008. A so he makes an album filled with anger and disappointment. Typical. Then- he caps it off by ending with the most depressive thing this side of Joy Division. It's not "childish", but it is completely regressive of a dude with a broken heart. It's when a man really starts to admit that he needs things. Then he gets particularly stalky and dark. It's probably the best song of his career.
3. White Shoes - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band No real band on this one, but that's the official album artist. It's hard to say why I love this song so much. I generally like songs that mean specific things to me. This one, with its oblique lyrics and loose folk strumming can take me in a different direction each time I hear it. When Conor returns to the quote, "Anything you wanna do" I get to pretend. Even though I do have that desperation, I get to pretend that I have the commitment to follow through with such a request.
2. Hang You From The Heavens - The Dead Weather This one is straight up about one of the most awesome drum licks in the history of rock. Jack White rarely misses his mark and this is no exception. Power and thick sticky goo all over this riff. The singer Alison, often left me not believing her on the album. But on this song, even though I really don't like any pain in my pleasure, I'd still let her drag me by the hair anywhere.
1. Aeon - Antony & the Johnsons If the voice doesn't break your heart while at the same time bringing you a spiritual awakening, then I can't help you. Let's do something differently. Let's take our power back.
Realism is positioning itself as some kind of addendum piece against the Fields' last release, Distortion, a beautifully constructed Jesus And Mary Chain-influenced fuzz-toned jam which painted its portraits against the backdrop of a snowed-out unreceptive television. I think all Stephin Merritt fans understood that this was a one-off experiment for the group and that he would, in the future, continue experimenting with his baroque pop sensibilities and Leonard-Cohen-on-ludes songwriting.
