Merchandise : " A Corpse Wired For Sound"

O.K had this one sitting around with me all weekend while I was at Dragon-Con. I was able to catch a few songs on the fly here and there, but this morning was the first day I could really sit down and give it a focused listen and it has been fighting with the new Wovenhand, that I got on the same same for air time. I guess the fact the band is on classic goth label 4AD , has finally settled in on them, so  it should not come as a surprise that the trappings of shoe gaze are more prominent in the guitar department on this album. It took a couple listens for me to fully appreciate the opening track.Perspective is a funny thing.  If I went into the album not knowing it was Carson Cox and co, I would have latched onto the darker tones driving the songs. But I went into this expecting some more focused on the vocals. The guitar tones are pretty incredible.  There is a weird Cocteau Twins like quality to " Crystal Cage" . I am more eager to latch onto the more new wave elements of "Right Back to the Start"  that reminds me of earlier Depeche Mode. The vocal melodies on this song are fucking sublime and the mood of every note sung is perfect.

The pulse to "End of the Week" is murkier and it's up to the vocals to cut through the swirl of effected guitar to deliver the message. Carson does succeed even with the almost My Blood Valentine wall of effects dripping around his melody. "Lonesome Sound" is more rock n roll. There are some pretty weird fuzzy guitar tones happening on this one. It's oddly upbeat and reminds me a little more of something from "After the End". There is a more post-punk tension to the chilly groove of "Shadow of the Truth".  "Silence" finds them back in the old Depeche Mode zip code, where it's not dark enough to be dark wave, but darker than your average pop song. They take a turn into a more ballad like direction on "I Will Not Sleep Here". A little more stripped down production wise, it allows you to hear a wider range of colors in Carson's voice. It is the most accessible song on the album, but I don't hear it tearing up "alternative radio" so it's far from a sell out.

The album closes with "My Dream is Yours". It's dreamy, but not stagnantly so. Though it's no where near being the best song on the album. The weird synths give it movement and the vocals take a back seat to the experimental ambiance. The programmed drums lock into the song by the end to create more of a rock build up and fight the noisy oddness seeking to drown the song. Overall this album is great and Carson once again throws you a sonic curve ball and refuses to replicate past work and forge ahead creatively, I'll round it up to a 10.

Merchandise:"After the End"

Their first album on the former goth label 4AD, the Tampa band gives me what I have wanted since the release of their Totale Nite ep, an entire album of well produced songs .It only makes sense considering they've headed into a more song focused direction. So what occurs is... they kick things off with a slightly Smiths like sway  to the upbeat guitar phrasing of the opener.This song rides the lines in being almost to straightforward and poppy for me, but the dead pan vocal approach saves it.

"True Monument" picks up where the opener left off , carrying it back into the more morose sound and lyrical content I want from these guys. It takes them until " Green Lady" to really hit the sweet spot I know they are capable of. The melody is not as down trodden as some of the stuff from "Totale Nite" , in fact it is more introspective and only half as cynical. It's a little dreamier and more like the Cure in some ways.

They nail it on " Life Outside the Mirror". It is a dreary ballad of sorts , where Carson Cox even lets his voice float up into a falsetto. The guitar lingers on every not even in the solo. Oddly the pace picks up on "Telephone". It more like 80's pop. The chorus is pretty strong and the use of real drums works in the songs favor. It is different for the band, the solo even reminds me of something that would be on a Zappa album. Strange as this song is in it's Billy Joel mannerisms, it still  gets pulled off well.

"Little Killer" whose video is featured below, is another upbeat and more straight forward rock like number. The vocals sell me on this despite the "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" accents to the guitar.Things slow back down on "Looking Glass Waltz" , which reminds me of a more slacker version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" , particularly when it comes to the keyboards in the back ground. The nuances in the vocals are subtle . but full of his personality.

The title track is more of an instrumental interlude with vocals only coming in during the final 15 seconds or so.A slower song with introspective and moody lyrics, that gradual picks up and allows his vocals to reach out of their more dead pan baritone. The song writing and the singing on this have all improved, live you can hear these guys have some chops and they are more displayed here. I';; go ahead and around it up to a 10.