 | Tracklist:
1. Leaves Eclipse The Light
2. The Motion Makes Me Last
3. In Culmination
4. Weird Creatures
5. Nightmare 5
6. Making Up Minds
7. Bending Dream
8. Cease to Know
Release Date: 02/23/2010 | |
| | other reviews | James Griffin (4)
Similes is another great achievement for Matthew Cooper, even if it isn't at the same level as Copia... | Jared Ponton CONTRIBUTOR (2.5)
It can be compared to this or that, true, but it doesn't fair well when placed next to Copia.... |
On 8 Lists
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| Summary: An oddly disjointed collection of pretty chord changes without an identity to give it life. |
Don’t call Similes a regression; it’s anything but that. Matthew Cooper (the man behind the Eluvium curtain) has been cautiously dancing around pop music for years now. Similes simply marks the first time he’s touched it. Purists can wipe that bead of sweat off their brow; Cooper does not allow the flirtation with pop to replace what we’ve come to know as Eluvium. The much-ballyhooed addition of percussion and vocals to Cooper’s previously appealing, stubbornly solo construction doesn’t replace his idiosyncratic unyielding warmth so much as it buttresses it, though Cooper doesn’t sound so sure about that. Rather, he sounds well aware that his voice will be the defining trait of Similes for Eluvium fans, and this causes him to sound nervous, his voice wavering on each note as though he were the quiet kid interjecting in a heated classroom discussion. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; the aesthetic of uncertainty, doubt, and fear gives Similes- and Cooper- an endearing persona that begs to be explored more deeply when Cooper approaches the next record. As it stands, Similes is a record that sounds deathly afraid of the risks it’s taking, torn between the warmth that Cooper adopted as his trademark on 2007’s Copia and the more conventional direction he seems hesitant to take.
Of course, to the person who picks up Similes to see what this Eluvium fuss is all about, the tense dialogue Similes is in with Copia won’t be as obvious as it would be to someone with an understanding of Eluvium’s background. What will be evident is that Similes is, while a pretty record, oddly disjointed, a collection of pretty chord changes without an identity to give it life. The soul of Cooper’s previous work came from an intrinsic confidence in the material, and because Similes is as divided as it is between its ambition and its means, it lacks the confidence to push its prettiness beyond just being prettiness. This perceived mistrust of Similes’ vision makes the songs suffer, and they often come across as ideas not given the proper time to grow and flourish. You can hear Cooper tinker with arena rock on “The Motion Makes Me Last” but suppress the grandeur that would give the song guts or simply stop the development of “Nightmare 5,” perhaps out fear it might be a bore. One of the greatest flaws of Similes is that, until the fully realized and wonderfully indulgent “Cease to Know,” Eluvium relies too much on the vocal-heavy tracks to give the album “direction” when Eluvium’s previous material worked so beautifully when it stood perfectly still. This is what should have worried those who were concerned about the character of Eluvium’s sound when it was announced that vocals and drums would enter the mix: not that the sound would be all that different from what he’s delivered in the past, but that the album construction and the patience that allowed Cooper’s ideas to evolve into something greater than their parts would be sacrificed, leaving us with something wholly unremarkable, no matter how much we want it to be more.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
well this is sort of shame, i had high hopes for this. but whatever, i'll probably check it out regardless. considering you had the gregor samsa record on the rec list, how similar are the two albums (rest and this)?
Digging: The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
| | | Album Rating: 3
there are times on the vocal tracks where the gentle vocal post rock thing reminds me specifically of Rest, although it's much brighter here.
Digging: 90 Day Men - To Everybody | | | Album Rating: 3
Sums up all my thoughts perfectly.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
It seems a few points made in this review were aimed at some of the things that I said in mine. I enjoyed reading this a lot though. Very nice. I will ask to get your review flagged by the way.
Digging: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Barafundle | | | Album Rating: 4
I still think it's remarkable so gtfo.
Digging: The Flashbulb - Arboreal | | | Album Rating: 3
The idea of Similes as a regression actually inspired me to write this review. Other than that, all points of contact between my review and yours are purely coincidental =).
| | | Album Rating: 3
"Cease to Know" doesn't go anywhere. Not like "Taken" or "Indoor Swimming at the Space Station"
Digging: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs | | | Album Rating: 4
I don't think Similes is a regression, just a change of direction executed remarkably well. Some of Cooper's most gorgeous melodies are on this album, and their often found in the vocals. Also, imo his vocals are tender, but not quite timid. It still sounds like an awesome Eluvium record to me. It seems I'm the only one though.
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Aww man, this is a 3? I really hope not, Copia was breathtaking.
Digging: pg.lost - It's Not Me, It's You!
| | | Album Rating: 4
It's not a 3.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Cease To Know, is sooo good.
Digging: The Saddest Landscape - Lift Your Burdens High For This is Where We Cross | | | Album Rating: 4
Weird Creatures is currently my fav
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Fag
| | | Album Rating: 4
now now
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
;) .
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this is reviewing. not really interested in getting this after the little i've heard though.
Digging: The Morning Benders - Big Echo
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I agree; this was in fact a review.
Digging: Aqua - Aquarium
| | | Album Rating: 3
Leaves Eclipse the Light sounds like something out of the forest temple in Legend of Zelda but it's not enough to make me love this
Digging: The Shins - Wincing the Night Away | | |
i wanted this to be good so bad
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
i love pretty chord progressions and "The Motion Makes Me Last" is fast becoming one of my favorite songs ever. looking forward to hearing this in a bit
Digging: P.O.S. - Audition | | | |
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