 | Tracklist:
1. Section 21 [Together We're Heavy]
2. Section 22 [Running Away]
3. Section 23 [Get Up And Go]
4. Section 24 [The Fragile Army]
5. Section 25 [Younger Yesterday]
6. Section 26 [We Crawl]
7. Section 27 [Mental Cabaret]
8. Section 28 [Guaranteed Nightlite]
9. Section 29 [Light To Follow]
10. Section 30 [Watch Us Explode (Justify)]
11. Section 31 [Overblow Your Nest]
12. Section 32 [The Championship]
Release Date: 2007 | |
| | other reviews | Sharkyx (4)
All in all this is album that makes your day go round, this is an album that inspires hope for the ... |
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| Summary: The Polyphonic Spree is here to spread the word: Give peace a chance! |
On its third full-length album, the Polyphonic Spree has lost that cult like white robes and instead donned black suits, marked with red hearts, crosses and a new logo. The Fragile Army, which features just as colorful a cover as those before it, shows Spree heading for a more serious, political view. This “seriousness” is purely subtle, as the sound is still obviously its own (think a more grandiose Arcade Fire with a bigger backing choir). There’s no growing as a band, but instead a side step into a more serious circus performance with just as many bells and whistles. But lead vocalist and band creator Tim DeLaughter, who before sounded like he was in a constant state of blissful high, sounds wounded here, lost amongst of politics he doesn’t understand but is strongly opposed to.
On the album’s cover, the band is spread across a field in mass confusion; it could more or less describe what is found sprawled beneath it, a clashing bit of serious overtones with music straight out of a euphoric society. It may be different (how many bands garner that kind of attention getting with an ecstasy user’s paradise?), but that doesn’t make it any more effective than another band’s eager attempts. In the album’s true opener (after the nostalgically named ‘Together We’re Heavy’ whirling intro), ‘Running Away’ begins with a marching band mentality and ends with the pop grandeur the band is known for, sliding easily between the swooning choruses and fleeting woodwinds. It’s just another example of the cohesiveness that DeLaughter has mastered along with his band, a vision held up by the strength of 24. This is DeLaughter’s band after all, and that is why you’ll never find him heaved under the band’s other exploding noises.
But like the start-stop riffing of ‘Get Up and Go’ entails, its more fun to just let the Polyphonic Spree free to let loose in its formula of flower power; it’s worked for the band before, and it’s surely working now. But back then, they were singing of recovering from alcoholism and the joys of watching the plants grow into an unburdened world; here, they have realized they were just blinded by the sun they rejoiced in, and they’re angry, damnit! And this translates to the piano ballad self-titled track that builds up in DeLaughter’s wavering voice to vibrating saxophones! Bombastic drums! Carnival pianos…! A typewriter? It’s pulling out all the stops and effects it can before the album is even halfway through. But it’s all rather obvious when placed next to DeLaughter’s lyrics: “You tighten your back up; oh, you’re so psychic. We all want to know, did you marry the witch you’ve come to know?” They never waver far from this mentality or penmanship, and it’s more than enough to just lose oneself in the music without having to worry about what the band is trying to preach (if one can even tell at all).
Unfortunately, like the recent the Dear Hunter release, Act II: The Meaning of & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading, The Fragile Army falls into the rut of being a rehash of what worked so well before. It’s still mastered here, catchy and steeped in pop grandeur that gives the Polyphonic Spree the step-up from overreaching failures like Act II, but the full effect falls flat without Spree’s “look on the Brightside” mentality that never made it sound naïve, just forgiving. When DeLaughter, slanted under his all-female backing chorus, falls to his knees in the hurtful ‘We Crawl’ (an acoustic lined number that keeps it low-key even when everyone is in full effect) and sings, “I know that we’re broken, it’s been unspoken for such a long time,” they’ve lost that luster. It doesn’t help that he backs it up with, “Our love is a lie.” But hey, ‘Oh I Feel Fine’ bounces around in warbling violins and trumpets, as ass shaking as Spree can get, while ‘Guaranteed Nightlite’ perfects the chorus’ harmonizing. But the album falls flat in the electronic-based experimentation of ‘Light to Follow’ or the warbling, post-rock ballad ‘Overblow Your Nest’ that’s too forced to make much of an impact.
If the sound of marching feet in the lush ‘Younger Yesterday’ is any indication, the band is ready to stick together as one. It’s this charming musketeer teamwork that proves that they’re here to fight for whatever they might be trying to fight for, even if DeLaughter can’t seem to figure it out (if he’s fighting at all; DeLaughter may just be singing about giving peace a chance). That’s not enough to call it music for music’s sake, or even change for change’s sake, but it’s not exactly effective past an overplayed aesthetic exterior. Still, this cult has a legion of fans that are ready to fight right beside them, and that may be enough for DeLaughter and his crack team of black suited hippy supporters.
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Bleh. :upset:
Digging: Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
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I've been meaning to get into these for a while.
Good review.
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Good review, but I thought this album was terrible.
| | | Album Rating: 4
great album, good review.
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Hmm...
Been hearing them around every now and again. The intrigue is building.
Good review.
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Been hearing them around every now and again. The intrigue is building. I like them, but none of their CDs get higher than a 3.5. They're good driving music, I suppose. They're awesome in concert, though. One of the best concerts I've ever been to.
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I'm thinking of seeing them at Lollapalooza this year but really don't know much of their music. Maybe I'll check this out since they'll probably be playing a lot of it.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Good review, I still got to hear the rest of the album (only have heared the first 2 or 3 songs at a friend) but that sounded ok!
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The lyric you mentioned from 'We Crawl' isn't 'Our love is a lie', but rather 'Our love is alive'. I think that drastically changes things. I thought the album was their best one so far... who says they have to be happy ALL the time? Still, it was a good review.
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Meh, I don't feel like changing it. My rating has altered slightly since. I mean, it's great that they decided to broaden their horizons, but it's not as much fun when you realize they're not doing anything different and they aren't so sincere about what they're saying.
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Yes, you're right in a way. I guess we (or I, anyway) will just have to wait for their next album before we can be sure about the Spree, their intentions, and their music.
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great nostalgia with this album
Digging: Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
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