Review Summary: All great things must come to an end. And unfortunately for Sivan Jacobovitz, that end came a bit too soon.
All great things must come to an end.
Coming off of the heels of its (his) 2012 release
Burn the Boats, Sivan spun on his cute lil toesies and pulled quite a 180 for his follow up record,
Young Effete Titans of Industry. With the demise of his touring/recording crew following his debut, Sivan reinvented his sound into a more faux post-punk style a la TV on the Radio (people oft assume faux means “bad,” but in this case I use it in more of a “inspired by but not exactly falling within the genre itself” way). This works in my favor because I generally despise post-punk. Sorry Moz.
While
Burn the Boats’s flow worked because it was essentially just one drawn out song, the flow of
Young Effete Titans of Industry flourishes because all of the songs follow a similar
theme while still maintaining the ability to stand out.
This is unfortunately both a positive and a negative. Bar the first two and last two tracks, it feels as though you could rearrange the middle four, and the flow and overall quality would not be changed. While the
objective quality might stay constant, it shows that a standard “theme” by itself does not ensure a cohesive album. Although his debut may have seemed long-winded and sometimes even a chore to sit through, it does not change the fact that all of the tracks
worked in their intended order. It truly felt like an album rather than a collection of songs--not saying that this is merely a collection of songs, but in comparison one could easily make that argument.
While the flow may seem a bit askew, it does not change the fact that the tracks themselves still hit. And they do hit--hard. Sivan seems to have a knack for both starting and ending an album strong, as seen in the perfect track placement of the first two and last two tracks on here as well as the first and last two on his debut. Within the first 20 seconds of opener “Bloomberg” it becomes quite apparent that Sivan has switched up his style quite a bit. What one would expect from an opener of his has radically shifted. The explosive rock opener that was “Time Won’t Mind” found on his previous album is nowhere to be found here. Opener “Bloomberg” shows his mindset changing; you can see that his mental state has certainly shifted. There is a definite maturation happening here. While
Burn the Boats flourished because of an almost “grandiose” style of songwriting,
Young Effete Titans of Industry finds itself maturing that style of sound while still maintaining that grandiose feel. The tightness and emotion found in his earlier work is still here, yet it is shown in a more laid back and reserved way. My adrenaline was still going and those butterflies were still fluttering regardless of distortion levels and the physical ‘oomph’ one felt upon initial listening. “Time Won’t Mind” hits you in the chest. “Bloomberg” hits you in the gut.
The utilization of electronics here works splendidly in combination with the songwriting itself. The drums are pulled back and tightened up, and they seem programmed while still maintaining that soul and feel of an actual drummer. This is no “Plan B” here where the programmed drums have ridiculous fills and a disgustingly flat mixing job. Programmed or not, the drums on this album work.
On the track “Souls,” you can have verses composed entirely of quiet bass and heavy drumming, and yet you can still feel the melody come out and get the overall
feel of the track and its
purpose. While it might be hard to understand why a track is where it is in the tracklist, the individual tracks are quite capable of getting their emotions across. While track 7, “Troy,” and track 4, “Young,” could easily be switched, the standalone tracks work in their own way and do not necessarily impede the overall feel of the album.
This album is a perfect example of an album that
almost gets the importance of overall album flow; the tracks are great, the opening/closing of the album is great, but the dip in purpose found in the middle of the album is all too prevalent. The music maintains quality, the drums, guitar, bass, vocals, keys, etc. all work flawlessly together. Sivan certainly knows how to layer an album. He knows when to restrain, and he knows when to really wail on his strings. This is what differentiates
Young Effete Titans of Industry from
Burn the Boats: he knows about passion now. He knows about dynamics. He knows when to hit, and he knows when to lay back. He knows music.
...which is what makes this album all the more depressing. Farewell Republic could easily have released a classic album. The promise of musical genius is all too easy to point out in both this and his debut. The maturity found in this album comparatively shows that he has no problem listening to criticism and learning from his mistakes. This album just reeks of emotion and fighting the want to unleash, and if there were to be a third album released, I know that it would be a perfect combination of both this and the debut: the debut was too heavy, and this might be a bit too reserved. There is definite classic potential. Unfortunately, he was not able to realize it. The end was nigh.
And unfortunately for Sivan Jacobovitz, that end came a bit too soon.
