The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army Sadly this is the first Spree album that didn't sweep me off my feet. Which is a shame cause I love the theme. Their new uniforms and the Army Of Love concept. There's something really epic in that, like their history as a band is a story and this is the dark chapter. It reminds me of wrathfulness in Buddhism (not anger like we know it, but a virtuous anger powered by love that Buddhas use to battle negative delusions). When I saw them live this winter, they played the show in their uniforms and during the encore returned in their classic robes to a chorus of "love, love, love..." Even then I didn't quite click with the songs, but the theatrics and the energy in the room made it work. Part of what tripped me up on the new album is the eight minute long mash-up preview the Spree released a few months ago. Thirty seconds of every track woven together so seamlessly that it successfully stands as it's own song that I still listen to. What got lost from mash-up to final album is a major quality I look for in a Spree album: operatic structure. I'm a huge fan of songs that weave multiple melodies, choruses, bridges, breaks, and segues into a single song. The Fragile Army's strongest track is it's self titled track "Section 24" for that very reason, it sounds like five songs, each with their own strong hook. Every song mixes it up a bit, and every song has at least one passage that's really catchy and in some cases, Younger Yesterday, euphoric. But only a few songs hold that magic from beginning to end. I'm also not entirely sold on the track order either. Their previous albums toy with standing as one hour long song where the Army feels more seperated. The album's still growing on me. For the very reason that there's something to be found in every song. It's just a shame that there's so many great snippets but very few great songs.
Shortbus Soundtrack I recently fell in love with the movie and randomly decided to see if that love would carry over to the soundtrack. And it did. It's a little hammy in parts, a little melodramatic in others, but the melodies are simple and poppy and waltzy and make me sway and bounce like a Muppet, which is the highest praise I can give songs, "it's gotta Muppet beat." Yo La Tengo was credited in the movie for their contributions, but Scott Matthew does the heavy lifting on the album with his folky ukulele plucking and raspy Bowie vocals. The album breaks up Scott's tracks between lighter faster songs to keep things afloat. My only reservation with the album is that sometimes the sappiness overwhelms, like it wants you to cry along. And maybe you're not in the mood to cry right then.
Kanye West - Late Registration One of my "years after the fact" purchases. Great cause I can listen to the music separate from the hype or the constant movie trailer use, but it doesn't leave me with much to say cause everyone already praised all the praise for this album years ago. Sadly I own very little rap, something I hope to remedy. I picked this one up partly due to my Jon Brion obsession and a few tracks I'd heard with his rich toy piano productions. It's just a solid, end-to-end album. Unlike Army and Shortbus I haven't really picked out individual Registration tracks. When I put it on, it's to listen to the entire thing. I even love the skits, which I know people tend to skip or turn off in their iTunes. I do have to fix my track names though, as the auto-namer in iTunes mixed things up. Looking at the back of the CD it seems there's 5 more tracks than there should be?

I've been in sort of a music-buying-lull lately. I'd been looking forward to the Spree for months. The preview clips of the new White Stripes haven't really won me over and I'm not even sure what's next on the horizon. I know Nellie McKay has a new album due in September, but there must be something before that right?

Labels: amoebaeats, critiqua