Some reviews, indeed most of them that I've seen, would have you believe this album is an out and out work of genius...that it might be, but it's the work of flawed genius.
There are indeed moments that leap out of the stereo (do people still listen to Cd's on their stereos these days?) in a cascade of beauty, with aching melodies, sumptuous layered harmonies and arrangements worthy of Brian Wilson at his best.
The problem is that far too few of these moments actually go anywhere other than completely overstaying their welcome. Songs like Bros and Good Girl/Carrots seem to be building to something special but then you dispiritedly realise that you're four minutes in (only a third of the way) and that nothing's really changed and by then you are distinctly bored by the whole thing. Is it a coincidence that the most successful track for me on the album was I'm Not, which clocks in at less than four minutes? Probably not, although I should point out that even that one left me feeling more than a little non-plussed.
Somewhere in all of this there probably is the fantastic record that most have proclaimed it to be. Me? Well I got too bored of waiting to find it. Some of you might appreciate its complexity, critics might appreciate it's construction; I'd wager most would find its lack of enjoyment factor completely off-putting.
There are indeed moments that leap out of the stereo (do people still listen to Cd's on their stereos these days?) in a cascade of beauty, with aching melodies, sumptuous layered harmonies and arrangements worthy of Brian Wilson at his best.
The problem is that far too few of these moments actually go anywhere other than completely overstaying their welcome. Songs like Bros and Good Girl/Carrots seem to be building to something special but then you dispiritedly realise that you're four minutes in (only a third of the way) and that nothing's really changed and by then you are distinctly bored by the whole thing. Is it a coincidence that the most successful track for me on the album was I'm Not, which clocks in at less than four minutes? Probably not, although I should point out that even that one left me feeling more than a little non-plussed.
Somewhere in all of this there probably is the fantastic record that most have proclaimed it to be. Me? Well I got too bored of waiting to find it. Some of you might appreciate its complexity, critics might appreciate it's construction; I'd wager most would find its lack of enjoyment factor completely off-putting.
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