2/18/11 – Conditions (The Temper Trap)
All you needed was a couple of instruments and a few chords and you could be on an indie label. - David Byrne
So it seems that WERS is the inspiration for most of the “indie” songwriters and bands on this list. Once again, I’m completely ok with that; just pointing it out so that if these are the albums you find yourself getting into, you may want to check them out. If you’re not around Boston Melbourne , Australia
“Love Lost” opens the album with a driving organ rhythmic motif. Not exactly a hook in and of itself, but a solid base (or bass) for the tune. Dougy Mandagi’s lead vocals sit in an easy upper chest moving often into falsetto, giving the vocals a relaxed and still present tone. It transitions into “Sweet Disposition” seamlessly – same key and tempo. The delayed, muted guitar once again sounds like a page taken out of the playbook of either U2 or The Police. This single, the closest to a mainstream hit from the group to date, has made a few additional commercial appearances as well, and traveled as far as 108 on the Billboard charts. It’s a great tune, and a perfect vehicle for their sound.
“Fader” also segues directly out of the previous track. While I appreciate continuity and thematic transitions, at this point, it begins to feel like the band is a “one note” group; one key, one tempo, one beat, one groove. While it’s a nice place to visit, sometimes it feels like they’re living there for too long. “Rest” finally takes a bit of a different direction, but still not much of a departure. The tempo picks up, but we still sit in D major. Furthermore, the lyrics leave something to be desired.
“Down River” puts the total number of tunes in D major consecutively to five. It’s beginning to get ridiculous. The orchestral string accompaniment adds another musical dimension, but the lyrics are as repetitive and mundane as the previous track. “Soldier On” takes us into B minor (which for the theory types, is just another name for D major. If you can’t tell, I’m really getting annoyed by this.) The change in texture is once again nice, but not enough. I think this album would be a great collection of singles, and I really like the group’s tone, sound, and approach musically, but find them better in smaller doses, I think. Likewise, I think I could more passively enjoy this album than actively paying attention to it from start to finish.
“Fools” is more of the same – songs in the key of D major. In fact the vocal gesture at the beginning is almost verbatim taken from “Sweet Disposition.” I’m beginning to question if the band knows more than a handful of chords that all happen to fit into this one key. “Resurrection” FINALLY moves into E minor. (Closely related, yes, but I’ll take what I can get.) its subdued, rhythmic bass and hi-hat groove are a welcome departure, and perhaps sets it apart enough to be the second best of the album. Not because it’s better – because it’s not the same old same old.
And then with that out of the way, we’re back to B minor for “Science of Fear.” Again. Enough said. I’m getting unnecessarily angry about this. The final track is a rather well crafted instrumental (in E minor!) entitled simply “Drum Song.” It’s got a little Blue Man Group mixed in with the established U2 meets Coldplay vibe that’s been going on. Like I said, I think every song here is at least descent, but as a whole, this album grates on me. Call it too much of a mostly good thing.
Tomorrow – Leontyne Price Sings Barber
Next week – Rage Against the Machine
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