mitchables
11-22-2004, 11:38 PM
http://www.sonicinfusion.co.uk/images/7235f.jpg
Cursive presents: The Ugly Organ
I have been a fan of Cursive for quite a while now, but it was only recently that I had the fortune to get a copy of their last album, The Ugly Organ, due to albums of such nature being almost impossible to find within the country, and always having to order out and such. Anyway, that's not the point of this review.
I had heard great things about The Ugly Organ, and so naturally it was with great anticipation that I put this in my CD player for the first time. What I experienced over the next 40 minutes far surpassed any expectations I had of this CD. I only managed two words when I heard it: 'Holy' and 'shit'.
Cursive really stepped it up a notch (bam) with this album. Vocalist/guitarist Tim Kasher and his band of miscreants do everything in their power to bend the rules of sound and music, often hitting with frantically overlapping guitar lines, uneven time signatures that shouldn't make sense but do, and consistently rocking bass that backs it all up seamlessly. Some songs are hard and fast, some plain rock on , and some are slow and melancholy. Whatever fashion the particular music of the moment takes, though, there's one thing that is present the whole way through: the sheer emotion that these guys are slamming out into their isntruments.
However, unarguably the most brilliant aspect of the instrumentalism on this album is the way the band has put to use Gretta Cohn, their cellist. The cello, to me, has never been an overly interesting instrument. sure, it's the bass to an orchestra but even then, it's normally overshadowed by the large stand up double basses. There was never really a place for the cello in anyone's heart. Gretta MAKES a place in your heart. She does some insane string work on this album, and really bent my perception of the cello. Akin to what Sean Macken of Yellowcard did for violins in pop-punk, Gretta has achieved that and more for cellos in emo/post-emo/prog-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, and she has achieved it well. Sometimes it is hard-hitting and ever-present, other times it takes a back seat, but no matter what its' role in the CD, Gretta has made sure you won't forget her cello.
Finally, there's the title instrument: The organ. The organ (played by Tim Kasher) makes repeated appearances on this CD, really keeping the theme in place. It's a nice addition. Sometimes you won't even be aware of it until everything goes quiet and there's a stabbingly ugly organ chord polluting the air. Its quite a beautiful thing.
The lyrics. Oh god, the lyrics. Never have I listened to a CD where the writer has so beautifully just opened his soul and spilled it. Every song contains his pure feelings and you can hear it in how he sings it, and you can read it in how he's written it. The Ugly Organ has a very tongue-in-cheek feel about it, often taking a satirical look at life. However, there are songs on there that are ridiculously sad, and Jesus Christ, you can feel his pain. It's depressing, at the very least. Tim's writing style is amazing. The fact that he can convey what he's feeling in the written word and then portray it flawlessly vocally is awe-inspiring. For anyone who's heard Sierra, you will know what I mean.
Song-by-song:
1. The Ugly Organist (Instrumental)
A nice little intro piece, which introduces the listener to the story. The CD is told almost like an opera, with stage directions even being written in the lyrics in the CD sleeve. Really horrid organ chords and rank screams abound, this song gives you a little insight into the journey you're about to go on. 8/10
2. Some Red Handed Sleight of Hand
...Annnnd it's straight into the rock. Hard hitting drums and guitar, coupled with some fast, powerful cello provide a really nice "real" introduction to the CD. It is written, even, as an introduction:
"And now we proudly present
Songs perverse and songs of lament
A couple hymns and confessions
and songs that recognise our sick obsessions
Sing along, I'm on the ugly organ again
Sing along, I'm on the ugly organ - so let's begin..."
Beautifully done. Song ends with a 'Psycho'-esque organ stabbing. Very nice. 9/10
3. Art is Hard
This song is amazing. The lyrics are great, they are satirical, they are biting. The music jumps back and forth between some nice quiet "eyes of the storm" before the rock just smashes you in the face again. The song has a nice old dig at people and bands who jumped on the "sing about misery" bandwagon to sell CDs...
"Cut it out - your self inflicted pain
is getting to routine
the crowds are catching on
to the self inflicted song
Well, here we go again
the art of acting weak
Fall in love to fail
to boost your CD sales"
This song is easily one of my favourites on the album. Everyone download it. 10/10
4. The Recluse
As quickly as the frantic rock came, it disappears into the melancholy 'The Recluse'. The story of a man who's woken up in the room of a woman he barely knows. All in all, a really (for want of a better term) beautiful song as he muses on why he's there. Quite self deprecating, really, but beautiful all the same. Matt Maginn's bass is a nice feature of this song. It's not overly complex, but it's very noticeable and a great addition. Kasher's voice transition from attacker in 'Art is Hard' to helpless victim in this song is seamless. 9.5/10
5. Herald! Frankenstein
To be honest, a rather unnecessary interlude piece, with one, very powerful, line.
"Now I can't stop the monster I've created". 4/10
6.Butcher the Song
Two lovers have an argument in a carpark and then in the car on the way home. An emotional journey through an experience that, one could assume from the lyrics, Tim has gone through before:
"So rub it in - in your dumb lyrics. Yeah, that's the time and
place to wring out your bullshit. And each album I'll get shit on a
little more, 'Who's Tim's latest whore?'"
No, that's not fair - no, that's just obscene.
I'll stop speaking for you if you stop speaking for me.
A slower song that makes really nice use of Gretta's cello work. Again, ends with some nice organ work, and a quote from Pinocchio, which leads us into... 8/10
7. Driftwood: A Fairy Tale
I love this song. Beautiful lyrics and instrumentalism. String instruments are a big feature of this song in particular. Another of my favourites. Definitely download this one. 10/10
8. A Gentleman Caller
Straight from the straightforward melancholy of 'Driftwood' into the attacking, biting, seemingly musically impossible 'Gentleman Caller'. This song, by all rights, should not work. But it does. This song takes a bit of getting used to, but Jesus, it's awesome. It possesses the single nicest musical transition ever, from biting offbeat anger-rock into slow, sad, post-anger cry-rock. Really nice buildup atmosphere. It's great. Must be heard to be believed. 8.5/10
9. Harold Weathervein
REALLY nice use of chimes in this song. Very gothic kinda feel. The bass stays on the high end of things, making very nice contrast with the lower cello. Quite a nice song, but I don't have alot to say about it. 8/10
10. Bloody Murderer
Another song that musically, probably shouldn't work, but the bastards have made it work. Nice lyrics and vocal work, but for some reason not really a stand out song to me. However, it does have a very nice breakdown at the end. 8/10
11. Sierra
This song possesses the most anguished cry of all time. It is enough to rip your heart right from your chest. The song is about a daughter of his who he will never know. I don't know what happened between Kasher and the mother, but one can assume whatever it was, it wasn't on good terms. This song is an epic. So many nice buildups and really powerful instrumentalisation. Rounds out my top 3 on the album, I absolutely love this song. The whole sense of longing and wonder of love lost and what his life could be like... shyeah. It's beautiful stuff. 10/10
12. Staying Alive
The 10-minute outro track. Very nice conclusion to the journey. The addition of the Saddle Creek family as the "Ghost Chorus" singing 'the worst is over' over and over is beautiful. It slowly fades out on the ghosts and you're sitting there why the fuck you didn't buy this CD ages ago. 8/10
OVERALL: 10/10
Definitely one of my favourite albums I've got this year. :love: :love: :love:
Cursive presents: The Ugly Organ
I have been a fan of Cursive for quite a while now, but it was only recently that I had the fortune to get a copy of their last album, The Ugly Organ, due to albums of such nature being almost impossible to find within the country, and always having to order out and such. Anyway, that's not the point of this review.
I had heard great things about The Ugly Organ, and so naturally it was with great anticipation that I put this in my CD player for the first time. What I experienced over the next 40 minutes far surpassed any expectations I had of this CD. I only managed two words when I heard it: 'Holy' and 'shit'.
Cursive really stepped it up a notch (bam) with this album. Vocalist/guitarist Tim Kasher and his band of miscreants do everything in their power to bend the rules of sound and music, often hitting with frantically overlapping guitar lines, uneven time signatures that shouldn't make sense but do, and consistently rocking bass that backs it all up seamlessly. Some songs are hard and fast, some plain rock on , and some are slow and melancholy. Whatever fashion the particular music of the moment takes, though, there's one thing that is present the whole way through: the sheer emotion that these guys are slamming out into their isntruments.
However, unarguably the most brilliant aspect of the instrumentalism on this album is the way the band has put to use Gretta Cohn, their cellist. The cello, to me, has never been an overly interesting instrument. sure, it's the bass to an orchestra but even then, it's normally overshadowed by the large stand up double basses. There was never really a place for the cello in anyone's heart. Gretta MAKES a place in your heart. She does some insane string work on this album, and really bent my perception of the cello. Akin to what Sean Macken of Yellowcard did for violins in pop-punk, Gretta has achieved that and more for cellos in emo/post-emo/prog-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, and she has achieved it well. Sometimes it is hard-hitting and ever-present, other times it takes a back seat, but no matter what its' role in the CD, Gretta has made sure you won't forget her cello.
Finally, there's the title instrument: The organ. The organ (played by Tim Kasher) makes repeated appearances on this CD, really keeping the theme in place. It's a nice addition. Sometimes you won't even be aware of it until everything goes quiet and there's a stabbingly ugly organ chord polluting the air. Its quite a beautiful thing.
The lyrics. Oh god, the lyrics. Never have I listened to a CD where the writer has so beautifully just opened his soul and spilled it. Every song contains his pure feelings and you can hear it in how he sings it, and you can read it in how he's written it. The Ugly Organ has a very tongue-in-cheek feel about it, often taking a satirical look at life. However, there are songs on there that are ridiculously sad, and Jesus Christ, you can feel his pain. It's depressing, at the very least. Tim's writing style is amazing. The fact that he can convey what he's feeling in the written word and then portray it flawlessly vocally is awe-inspiring. For anyone who's heard Sierra, you will know what I mean.
Song-by-song:
1. The Ugly Organist (Instrumental)
A nice little intro piece, which introduces the listener to the story. The CD is told almost like an opera, with stage directions even being written in the lyrics in the CD sleeve. Really horrid organ chords and rank screams abound, this song gives you a little insight into the journey you're about to go on. 8/10
2. Some Red Handed Sleight of Hand
...Annnnd it's straight into the rock. Hard hitting drums and guitar, coupled with some fast, powerful cello provide a really nice "real" introduction to the CD. It is written, even, as an introduction:
"And now we proudly present
Songs perverse and songs of lament
A couple hymns and confessions
and songs that recognise our sick obsessions
Sing along, I'm on the ugly organ again
Sing along, I'm on the ugly organ - so let's begin..."
Beautifully done. Song ends with a 'Psycho'-esque organ stabbing. Very nice. 9/10
3. Art is Hard
This song is amazing. The lyrics are great, they are satirical, they are biting. The music jumps back and forth between some nice quiet "eyes of the storm" before the rock just smashes you in the face again. The song has a nice old dig at people and bands who jumped on the "sing about misery" bandwagon to sell CDs...
"Cut it out - your self inflicted pain
is getting to routine
the crowds are catching on
to the self inflicted song
Well, here we go again
the art of acting weak
Fall in love to fail
to boost your CD sales"
This song is easily one of my favourites on the album. Everyone download it. 10/10
4. The Recluse
As quickly as the frantic rock came, it disappears into the melancholy 'The Recluse'. The story of a man who's woken up in the room of a woman he barely knows. All in all, a really (for want of a better term) beautiful song as he muses on why he's there. Quite self deprecating, really, but beautiful all the same. Matt Maginn's bass is a nice feature of this song. It's not overly complex, but it's very noticeable and a great addition. Kasher's voice transition from attacker in 'Art is Hard' to helpless victim in this song is seamless. 9.5/10
5. Herald! Frankenstein
To be honest, a rather unnecessary interlude piece, with one, very powerful, line.
"Now I can't stop the monster I've created". 4/10
6.Butcher the Song
Two lovers have an argument in a carpark and then in the car on the way home. An emotional journey through an experience that, one could assume from the lyrics, Tim has gone through before:
"So rub it in - in your dumb lyrics. Yeah, that's the time and
place to wring out your bullshit. And each album I'll get shit on a
little more, 'Who's Tim's latest whore?'"
No, that's not fair - no, that's just obscene.
I'll stop speaking for you if you stop speaking for me.
A slower song that makes really nice use of Gretta's cello work. Again, ends with some nice organ work, and a quote from Pinocchio, which leads us into... 8/10
7. Driftwood: A Fairy Tale
I love this song. Beautiful lyrics and instrumentalism. String instruments are a big feature of this song in particular. Another of my favourites. Definitely download this one. 10/10
8. A Gentleman Caller
Straight from the straightforward melancholy of 'Driftwood' into the attacking, biting, seemingly musically impossible 'Gentleman Caller'. This song, by all rights, should not work. But it does. This song takes a bit of getting used to, but Jesus, it's awesome. It possesses the single nicest musical transition ever, from biting offbeat anger-rock into slow, sad, post-anger cry-rock. Really nice buildup atmosphere. It's great. Must be heard to be believed. 8.5/10
9. Harold Weathervein
REALLY nice use of chimes in this song. Very gothic kinda feel. The bass stays on the high end of things, making very nice contrast with the lower cello. Quite a nice song, but I don't have alot to say about it. 8/10
10. Bloody Murderer
Another song that musically, probably shouldn't work, but the bastards have made it work. Nice lyrics and vocal work, but for some reason not really a stand out song to me. However, it does have a very nice breakdown at the end. 8/10
11. Sierra
This song possesses the most anguished cry of all time. It is enough to rip your heart right from your chest. The song is about a daughter of his who he will never know. I don't know what happened between Kasher and the mother, but one can assume whatever it was, it wasn't on good terms. This song is an epic. So many nice buildups and really powerful instrumentalisation. Rounds out my top 3 on the album, I absolutely love this song. The whole sense of longing and wonder of love lost and what his life could be like... shyeah. It's beautiful stuff. 10/10
12. Staying Alive
The 10-minute outro track. Very nice conclusion to the journey. The addition of the Saddle Creek family as the "Ghost Chorus" singing 'the worst is over' over and over is beautiful. It slowly fades out on the ghosts and you're sitting there why the fuck you didn't buy this CD ages ago. 8/10
OVERALL: 10/10
Definitely one of my favourite albums I've got this year. :love: :love: :love: