Review Summary: A dreamy, beautiful album that appeals to the outsider in all of us, "Today" is alt-rock classic.
I don't really think it's news to anyone that the 1980s were a little excessive, especially when it came to music. Every song was so slickly over-produced, loaded with synths and a two-hand tapping solo and whatever else was fashionable but completely unnecessary to a simple song and then shoved into a bright, jerky, pastel coloured video to be presented to the masses on an endless loop. And while many bands did benefit from this sound, music in general didn't really feel as raw because unrawness (is that a word?) was commercially viable. The problem with music being made for commercial success though is that it ends up being about commercial things, making it shallow and lacking in any emotional depth.
Enter Galaxie 500, one of my favourite bands from the 1980s. Where other bands were singing about sex, money and cocaine, Galaxie 500, composed of guitarist Dean Wareham, bassist Naomi Yang and drummer Damon Krukowski, took a more introspective root, writing about urban alienation, angst and love. It may sound like the typical sort of stuff aimed at outcast high school students, and as one I loved it to death, but Galaxie 500 really do offer more, especially on their excellent debut "Today". For one, I think the production is terrific. It definitely has that 80s vibe with a lot of chorus and jangly guitars, more akin to The Smiths than Duran Duran I suppose, but the deep, spacey sound actually helps to make the music very atmospheric and alienating, perfectly matching the lyrics. The lyrics themselves are also fascinating in that with their more dark, personal nature, they seem more like those that would be written in the grunge era 90s, a time where I find that most songs sounded so dreadfully similar. It makes a killer formulae though: 80s atmosphere + 90s truthful content = fascinating music.
Now don't get me wrong, "Today" has its issues. Much like how I feel about Grunge bands, many of the songs on "Today" sounds very similar, with a simple strummed guitar beneath some hushed vocals and reverby leads. Personally, I think this creates a nice flow, making the whole thing just like one long, echoing dream that you don't want to wake up from. But, if you're just a casual listener who doesn't feel like digging into the music and seeing what it really has to offer, than you may not like this band or album, but if you're really willing to take the plunge, "Today" some amazing songs to offer.
The album opens with "Flowers", a beautiful love song that seems almost the antithesis of 80s excess. In a time when the average rock star was wooing hundreds of women a year at great ease, luring them in with their money and hip styles, Wareham sings about the struggle to get even the one girl he wants. He doesn't even have the money to offer her flowers, only the ability to be there, but apparently this isn't enough. Thanks both to the simple idea and lyrics and Wareham's beautiful vocals, not to mention lead guitar lines, "Flowers" is a deeply sad song, perfectly setting the tone for what's to come.
"Pictures" is another beautiful and simple love song, feeling like an extension of "Flowers". The change comes though in "Parking Lot" which is far more upbeat, especially in Krukowski's drumming which before providing quiet texture now pops right up with a commanding beat. While still a song about alienation, "Parking Lot" is lyrically a bit more upbeat as well, declaring, essentially, that the speaker doesn't mind being alone because everyone else is insane.
Their cover of Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste", clocking in at nearly 7 minutes, features some extended musical passages which best exemplify Galaxie 500's talents as a band. None of its 3 members are perfect, but they're all perfect for each other. Their just one of those bands that really got 3 people distinct people together in the right place at the right time. The band just flow so nicely together, sounding like a less dense and more beautiful form of much of the shoe gaze that would follow in the 1990s.
"Temperature's Rising", "Oblivious" and "It's Getting Late" all play very much on variations of the same idea with their slower tempos, dreamy atmosphere and simple, repetitive lyrics about the speaker's psychological state. This is really where the argument of the album being repetitive could best be made, but honestly, I just find each song too beautiful to ever really lose interest in it. Wareham's vocals are a consistent highlight throughout, always sounding 100% sincere and achingly passionate.
"Intrumental", appropriately titled, follows and again highlights the band's ability at just playing, and with its faster tempo, tribal-esque drums and frantically strummed guitar, the song really rocks where most of the album sticks to the quiet route, giving us a break and showing off a little diversity.
"Tugboat" is the album's masterpiece, and one of the great masterpieces of alternative music in general. The lyrics portray really the ultimate idea of an outsider, declaring, "I don't wanna stay at your party, I don't wanna talk to your friends, I don't wanna vote for your President, I just wanna be your tugboat captain". A strange dream for sure, but the message plays clear as that he just doesn't want to do what society tells him he should do; he just wants to do what he wants to do. It's an incredibly relatable and admirable idea, but what really sells it are Wareham's vocals which peak on "Tugboat". Sang deep-seated angst, you can really hear the scratchiness in his voice, like he's been trying to repeat it to whomever he's speaking to in the song one too many times and they just never seem to understand. His guitar lines match this, ripping lines with more fury and energy than anywhere else on the album and providing what it actually an excellent guitar solo, one of the few mainstream concepts that Galaxie 500 give in to. But where every other guitar player in a rock band in the 80s just sounded like they were doing an Eddie Van Halen impressions, Wareham stands alone, playing with such emotion that you can't help but become engrossed.
"King of Spain" completes the existential journey of the album, with Wareham declaring, "You know, I am the King of Spain, and you know that you can never tear me apart again, the empty hull, I roam around, and my friends don't understand, I'll never lose again". He's finally broken free from everyone else's ideals and can finally stand as his own master, bringing "Today" to it's conclusion.
"Today" is just a powerhouse of an album, both for its fascinating sound overall and for its emotional punch. Wareham has some of the best vocal takes of album of the decade, the musicianship from all members fits together so perfectly, and their simple mantra that maybe being alone is a good thing really speaks to the outcast in all of us. The album isn't really perfect, but for anyone who appreciates some beautiful music, or has ever just felt a little isolated, it's a definitive statement and a must listen.
