I don’t feel like going in-depth on this, because I don’t really like Radiohead, and there are so many Jay-Z remixes that it takes a lot for one to stand out (Grey Album, anyone?). But this is fun. Not as transparent as other mashups/remixes, but at least I now realize that my least favorite part of Radiohead is Thom Yorke, so props to Minty Fresh Beats for that. I could have done without the effects on the Jay’s vocals, though.
Overall: 6/10
Thomas Dutton, you crafty motherfucker. When your whole band walked out on you, you shrugged it off and responded by recruiting your own brother and stepping your musical output up to a pseudo-high-art level. Keeping the band name intact, you captivated the entire population of AbsolutePunk for months with your upscale viral campaign involving some of the brightest stars in today’s scene. And now, the moment of truth: Razia’s Shadow: A Musical is out, and I can practically hear the FBR fanbase salivating.
For those of you playing at home, this is a narrative concept album, composed and arranged over the course of months (years?) by the Duttons, plus Gatsby’s American Dream drummer Rudy Gajadhar. Each track revolves around one of a cast of characters, played by a plethora of guest vocalists – just about everyone short of Pete Wentz’s cock is on this album. Though this is sure to move copies and get the word out, it sure is a detriment to the underlying story, which would be extremely difficult to follow were it not for narration by Aaron Weiss of MewithoutYou. Although it’s his role that propels the album forward, I found it a strange pick, given the emotive sprechgesang he usually employs on his songs – this is toned down if present at all on Razia’s Shadow.
As one might imagine, some performances are stellar, and some just fall flat. Chris Conley (of Saves The Day) holds his own as Toba the Tura, whose significance to the plot I simply don’t understand. Casey Crescenzo (of The Dear Hunter) adds his impassioned voice to the opening track with marvelous results, but Greta Salpeter (of The Hush Sound) mostly sounds insincere compared to the rest of the cast, in spite of her centric role in the love story that materializes abruptly halfway into the record. Shawn Harris (of The Matches) gets way into his role on an appropriately quirky number, and even Brendon Urie (of Panic At The Disco) is impressive, given my usual animosity toward his voice. And while Max Bemis worship is at an all-time high, “The Spider and The Lamps” takes his uniquely sincere delivery, customary to Say Anything tracks, and confines it to an awkward duet with Dutton. I have to hand it to Max though – he fights to keep the life from being squeezed out of him by this overwrought and unintelligible story with an anticlimactic conclusion and dénouement.
But Razia’s Shadow, if nothing else, is certainly well-written and composed. In terms of instrumentation and production, the Duttons and producer Casey Bates have gone over the top in creating an eccentric but beautifully-made soundtrack. Apparently, some of the symphonic and orchestral flourishes are synthesized patches, mixed to transparency. They sound great; not distracting at all (except those programmed drums in “It’s True Love,” ugh). The composition is of an appropriately high caliber for the scale and ambition of this project – it sounds like the entire span of time since Wonderland‘s release was spent arranging every single note. There are moments of brilliance: pastiches evoking operatic librettos and lively Broadway numbers, punctuated with low-key, atmospheric interludes like “Holy The Sea” (featuring understated performances from Kris Anaya of An Angle and John Gourley of Portugal. The Man). The recording quality is exquisite and speaks to the deep pockets of Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic, even going toward a roster member as obscure as Forgive Durden.
My biggest complaint is that I just can’t relate to the content, the substance of the record. And I know that it is, to some extent, a rock opera, a genre that shouldn’t be immediately relatable to the average person. But the esoteric, fanciful subject matter certainly doesn’t make things any easier, compared to that of its forefathers: The Wall, Quadrophenia, Tommy, A Night At The Opera, etc. However, if the stage show this record is begging for ever comes to fruition, Razia’s Shadow could go down as a milestone in the “scene”: a landmark record in the progression of an-already nebulous genre.
Overall: 6/10
Thursday is an important band for me. They got me into their genre (whatever you want to call it) in the first place, and were a primary source of influence for a lot of music I wrote in high school. Full Collapse and, to a lesser extent, War All The Time are some of my favorite records of all time. They let me down with A City By The Light Divided though, in a way that was hard to recover. After hearing about all their troubles with Island/Def Jam and the b-sides album they did with Victory, I had my faith briefly restored. This release, however, falls tragically short of what a renewed and reinvigorated Thursday should sound like. They show signs of promise, too – sort of like the unreleased/new tracks on Kill The House Lights - they just don’t really go anywhere or deliver anything substantial. They lack the urgency (and indie production value) that I had previously associated with them. The pseudo-electronic influence could be cool, though, if explored properly. Kind of reminds me of 65daysofstatic, but more…band-y.
Envy was a breath of fresh, Japanese air when I’d first heard of them back in high school. A Dead Sinking Story was fierce enough to put a lot of comparable American bands to shame. In all honesty, I was kind of hoping their presence on this split would inspire Thursday to not hold anything back, but it might have backfired and brought Envy down a notch or two. They’re still interesting and more innovative than they’re given credit for, but this feels like less than their best. The songs seem more mechanical and formulaic than their post-rock influence should allow, and this seems to reduce the feeling, the intensity that Envy was known for. It’s still very good on the surface, but subtly less enjoyable. I should mention though that these songs sound better on good speakers or, better yet, nice headphones.
Overall: 6/10
