So, nobody reads these, huh?
Dooble.
DOO-ble.
DOOBLE DOOBLE DOOBLE DEE DEE DEE DEE!
There, that was fun. Now I'll just talk to myself for a bit, since -- according a handful of people -- TMT readers only consult the scores.
I've always been kinda torn about Michael Lenzi's vocals; both in The Fire Show and his solo project Resplendent. While keenly intuitive, melodically, there is a sort of generic, whiny, emo-staleness undercutting them. So it's a shame that Am I Free?/I Am Free is the last Resplendent release, since it's plagued with these kind of vocals, all nice and up front in the mix. Hopefully Lenzi won't quit making music, since -- all reservations aside -- he's got a lot to offer. He is an extremely talented songwriter; whose affecting sounds take many unpredictable twists and turns, and never feel emptily pseudo-experimental.
So I guess my criticisms regarding this album are somewhat biased. I am not a big lyrics person. I've never been a huge Bob Dylan fan. The songs of his I like, I've liked for the memorable, occasionally healing, melodies. The lyrics, while excellent, are secondary as far as I'm concerned. This may be hypocritical, as someone who wishes I wasn't just writing to myself as a reviewer (internet or otherwise). But I have to be honest.
And yet, since the lyrics of Resplendent's dumb little ditty, "Destiny Afterbirth" is assailing what I believe to be worthy of my own and your own time, I'm gonna have to dig into things a bit. Okay, so I'm guessing Lenzi's expression of emptiness at hearing Ozzy's "Flying High Again" is jumping on this bandwagon of "what happened to the crazy, whiskey and groupie gropin' rock star demagogue of yore?" They sold out. There're still rock stars like that, but their music just echoes their brain-dead, decidedly more imaginative, idols. And, as long as we're talking "bullshit" here, I think it's safe to say pining for that kind of shit is the height of emptiness. It's about creating lasting documents, not (as entertaining as this can be) who can make the most engaging Behind The Music episode.
"Destiny Afterbirth," as Pitchfork pointed out, is part of the doubting jaded first half of the album while the second half expresses something like hope and resolve. I'd say it's an engaging dynamic, but no matter how succinctly Lenzi expresses his convictions, I honestly find his reflexive self-absorption consistently obnoxious. The culture of underground music is not bullshit. It's almost non-existent, it's not readily serviceable to the pursuit of lasting security and love, but it's far from being bullshit. Besides, the idea of just saying something is "bullshit" over and over again is just your token Trent Reznor gleaning. Emphatically acknowledging emptiness as a form of expression is significantly more crawl-up-your-own-ass than the oblique non-approach to art that people accuse David Lynch of having. So either infuse or shut the fuck up, Michael. What's bullshit is your using your rare musical talents as some kind of arch, bipolar soapbox. It's just tiresome.
If I were to focus any longer on the lyrics this would just be a screed. I really only want to suggest that the lyrics are pushed so upfront as to disservice his decidedly more interesting musical arrangements. The best moments on this album are on the second half with songs like "Drink Deep" where the vocals share equal footing with the irresistibly infectious rhythms and harmonies. They're downright transcendent. And transcendence is not nothing! It's right fucking now! It's why I give a shit. I'm not getting paid with money or even cred for writing this. At best, I get an e-mail response or a stack of free CDs to explore. But I couldn't see how anyhow could make enough money to live on in this business and not become a quote whore. Maybe if you managed to write a book… Whatever, the point is: I care about music whether it comes down to pieces of roundy plastic or not. Indirectly attacking your audience (however small) for being curious about your stuff strikes me as kind of smug.
Anyhow, the melody of my favorite new Resplendent song, "Drink Deep," (whose "Drink deep, and it's just a taste" refrain is a little more worth exploring than "This culture is bullshit") is reprised gloriously with a soaring instrumental capper titled "Hope." It's a great tune, because it reminded me that structure and concept on a release is a take or leave thing for a given listener and should be constructed with that in mind. I've always liked albums more than artists, songs more than albums. And I write this, non-audience, assuming I'm not the only one who feels this way.
So all in all, there's much you can take from this, Resplendent's last release. The same goes for the Resplendent EPs reviewed below. But I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge there was something naggingly cloying and obnoxious about Michael Lenzi's naked voice. It's what made the spare Saint The Fire Show so much less memorable than their self-titled debut and the stellar Above The Volcano Of Flowers EP. So, yeah, I'm not one of those people going around patronizingly imploring that musicians have something to say. Music is best when it transcends communication via language. That's why it's music.
If you assessed Animal Collective's Sung Tongs based on its lyrics it'd be a pretty fruitless endeavor. But it's the best album of 2004 because it transcends any message-minded rhetoric. What's fake about most music magazines is that they chase the zeitgeist. They kiss the zeitgeist's fickle ass. Why bother, when there are so many fascinating sounds to absorb and make a moment in time feel a little fuller. Reslplendent could've bowed out with authority, but he opted to wallow in his feelings of insignificance. And, as the better moments of this album will attest to, he's significantly better than that.
1. In My Quiet Car
2. Summer Breeze
3. Destiny Afterbirth
4. Stately and Graceful
5. I Am Free
6. Dust of Luck
7. Drink Deep
8. Beer Muscles
9. A Tourist No More
10. Hope