Review Summary: The Delicious Bread Collection have molded into one of the greatest experimental bands of modern times. Seriously dough, this album is exactly what I kneaded in my life.
Who doesn't love bread? From pita to cornbread, no other type of food has more variety. Bread comes in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and no two slices are exactly alike. There is no denying that bread is the most essential part of any delicious meal, yet it also goes unappreciated. It is not the bread itself that makes one’s meal tasty, but rather the ingredients that are placed onto the bread. Although each type of bread has its own unique style, bread works best when used to complement whatever food is placed onto it, be it grape jelly or gourmet steak. Bread is a pallet which is painted upon by the chef; a blank slate, a story simply waiting to be told. No band in recent memory embodies the essence of bread better than The Delicious Bread Collection, an experimental avant-garde band from Michigan.
Throughout their illustrious career, The Delicious Bread Collection have been taking the concept of bread and applying it to their music with the utmost amount of expertise. They have realized that, just like bread, there are infinite ways in which music can be prepared and utilized, and only through endless amounts of experimentation can the perfect flavor be found. The band’s newest EP can best be compared to sourdough: soft and easily accessible, but with a sour tang that does not revolt, but rather makes it unique from all other flavors. The EP, ironically entitled
Failure, is oriented towards pop music rather than metal. Although this change of style was completely unexpected, it is nevertheless welcomed, as the grindcore/jazz combination was beginning to become stale (and as we all know, no one likes stale bread).
The new sourdough flavor The Delicious Bread Collection have adopted is one both tasty and nutritious.
Failure packs quite a punch, with each song carrying a powerful message and delivering it with absolute precision. The opener, “I’m Going to Take a Bunch Of Pills” deals with the issue of suicide, told from the perspective of a deranged suicidal maniac hell-bent on swallowing as much pills as it would take to give him the “slow and painful death” that he desires. On the opposite side of the spectrum is “Piss In Public,” which features a whiny, high-pitched voice screaming the words “Piss in public, piss in public, f*** the police!” Truly, this slogan captures the voice of an entire generation. With the second track on the album, “Ed the Syllable,” The Delicious Bread Collection conjure up Schoolhouse Rock to deliver a tune that is both enjoyable and educational all at the same time. The highlight of the album, however, is closer “I Want To Be A Girl,” which is perhaps the most brilliant thing The Delicious Bread Collection have ever released since their cover of “Spooky Scary Skeletons.” The song’s upbeat melody juxtaposes with its sensitive lyrics that show how The Delicious Bread Collection have matured quite a bit since their LP,
Make Love Wheat Bread. While it may appear at first that this album can do no wrong, there are several aspects of their music in which the band falters. For one, the high pitched, childlike vocals which appear in most songs can often be irritating and distracting, especially when the instrumentation in the background is so brilliant.
Failure’s biggest flaw, however, is the absence of bread-related lyrics. Few bands have been able to write such poetic lyrics about bread as The Delicious Bread Collection have, as shown by songs on previous releases, such as “God Gave You Smell Of Duty,” which boasts the single greatest line in bread literature: “And now, the yeast has risen.” While
Failure is still captivating as ever, the album somehow does not feel complete without at least one ballad to the band’s main inspiration.
Each type of bread looks and tastes different from one another. Yet, when a loaf of bread presents itself, there is no denying that it is, indeed, a loaf of bread. Such is the case with
Failure, an album that in no way lives up to its name.
Failure may not be the most scrumptious-tasting thing The Delicious Bread Collection have ever produced, but it is certainly one of the most flavorful. This album tastes as if it is fresh out of the oven, with a crunchy crust on the outside and warm fluffiness on the inside. It is chock-full of carbohydrates and is a recommended part of a healthy diet. If this doesn't make your yeast rise then, quite frankly, nothing will.
