Review Summary: Who needs drugs?
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, a bildungsroman novel from the early 20th century, features two children, siblings, who deal with different people and experiences, learning many things erstwhile. This book features one character named Ms. Dubose, whom Jem, one of said children, would read to regularly. Dubose would often be thrown into a psychedelic fit during said sessions: "She lay on her back, with the quilts up to her chin. Only her head and shoulders were visible. Her head moved slowly from side to side. From time to time she would open her mouth wide, and I could see her tongue undulate faintly." She was a morphine addict, and someone reading to her seemed to bring her to mental fits. I know how she feels:- things can often be emotionally consuming, especially things that one is passionate about. I have felt how she feels, as most music fans have. Music will often bring the listener into psychedelia. Few albums, however, hurl me into psychotropic tantrums -- only the likes of Sonic Youth's 'Daydream Nation', My Bloody Valentine's 'Isn't Anything', and 10,000 Maniacs' 'In My Tribe.'
This soft rock quintet has been around since 1981, and since then has been releasing great albums; 'Our Time in Eden', 'Hope Chest', 'Blind Man's Zoo'; but it all started with this LP. The jangly college rock guitar mixed in with the driving drum beats and Natalie Merchant's soaring vocals create a perfect sound. 10,000 Maniacs has the vocals of Anne Murray, the jangle of the The Allman Brothers Band, and the post-punk aesthetic of R.E.M. (whose singer is featured on this album). The refreshing lyrics on storytelling tracks of emotional scenes are tear-inducing at times. "What's the Matter Here?" conveys a vista of an abusive family life (in strong contrast with the musical style). "Like the Weather" displays a depressing scene, which one can relate to very easily. "Gun Shy" makes a great scene of the singer's brother joining the army. The enjoyment of this album is induced by the story every track tells.
The great thing about this album is the fact that it is NOT strictly derivative as most pop is -- rather, it makes raw music, paying no attention to demographic or popularity. The quality of this LP is hindered only by the repetitivity of some tracks; "My Sister Rose", an upbeat song about Merchant's sister's wedding, is pretty unvaried and continual. "The Campfire Song" features a selfish, cruel figure who wants all and is destroyed by his plight:- this uses the same few melodies over and over, bringing disadvantage to the quality of this album.
Ms. Dubose died some time after she had been read to. She taught me that emotional escapes are often futile, and we enjoy things while we HAVE sentimentality to appreciate. Thus, no album has truly made me dream wide awake before, besides this one. Forever will I have an emotional connection with this album as well as "To Kill a Mockingbird", but others will question the ecstasy of it. Ecstasy or not, 'In My Tribe' is near perfect in all ways, and you'll think so too. 4.5/5
