Perhaps Mr. Bemis has become too real a boy...
But its not all bad.
27 tracks on 2 discs is a lot of "angst" to handle at once, luckily our hosts have scattered a few slow jams and a show tune in for good measure. The lyrics are much less ambiguous then their previous (and superior) release, 2004's ...is a Real Boy, and the freedom and production value seem to allow singer/songwriter/everything else-doer Max Bemis' "psychological unpleasantness" to boil over. He has traded in the metaphors present on their last record and got himself some straightforwardness. Extremely evident on disc one's The Church Channel. The opening line of the song is "I wake up in a room and realize I'm insane again. This is the fifth time straight in a year I've ended up in here..."
The record jumps all over the place, each song a mini-adventure that really has no predetermined destination. There are several constants in the themes of the songs, even if the styles are different from one to the next. Songs about girls, drugs, sex, insanity, abuse, and racism(seriously, listen to Died a Jew. What the hell is he talking about??).
There are some extremely bright points on the poppy "Shiksa" and there are some downright unsettling points such as the stripped down "Spores." An album you don't want to miss, but are truly unlikely to make it all the way through in one sitting, Defense of The Genre could have been great- almost as good as "...is A Real Boy." But it is as if Bemis recorded as many songs as he could and just left them all on the CD. No matter how many different styles of music you play or how many guest stars you have on your record, sometimes you just gotta know when to cut a dozen or so songs off.
Hovering at 2 stars, I listened to the guitar solo at the end of "I Used to Have a Heart" and bumped it to 2.5. Then I listened to the tempo change in "The Church Channel", and I had to go with 3 stars. You certainly won't regret listening to this record, but it won't change your life... well, actually nearing the end of disc 2 you find: "Goodbye Young Tutor, You've Now Outgrown Me." That might actually change your life - in that it will assist in any insomnia you have been experiencing.
But its not all bad.
27 tracks on 2 discs is a lot of "angst" to handle at once, luckily our hosts have scattered a few slow jams and a show tune in for good measure. The lyrics are much less ambiguous then their previous (and superior) release, 2004's ...is a Real Boy, and the freedom and production value seem to allow singer/songwriter/everything else-doer Max Bemis' "psychological unpleasantness" to boil over. He has traded in the metaphors present on their last record and got himself some straightforwardness. Extremely evident on disc one's The Church Channel. The opening line of the song is "I wake up in a room and realize I'm insane again. This is the fifth time straight in a year I've ended up in here..."
The record jumps all over the place, each song a mini-adventure that really has no predetermined destination. There are several constants in the themes of the songs, even if the styles are different from one to the next. Songs about girls, drugs, sex, insanity, abuse, and racism(seriously, listen to Died a Jew. What the hell is he talking about??).
There are some extremely bright points on the poppy "Shiksa" and there are some downright unsettling points such as the stripped down "Spores." An album you don't want to miss, but are truly unlikely to make it all the way through in one sitting, Defense of The Genre could have been great- almost as good as "...is A Real Boy." But it is as if Bemis recorded as many songs as he could and just left them all on the CD. No matter how many different styles of music you play or how many guest stars you have on your record, sometimes you just gotta know when to cut a dozen or so songs off.
Hovering at 2 stars, I listened to the guitar solo at the end of "I Used to Have a Heart" and bumped it to 2.5. Then I listened to the tempo change in "The Church Channel", and I had to go with 3 stars. You certainly won't regret listening to this record, but it won't change your life... well, actually nearing the end of disc 2 you find: "Goodbye Young Tutor, You've Now Outgrown Me." That might actually change your life - in that it will assist in any insomnia you have been experiencing.
Lines to check out:
"So I'll Go Out and Get Crunk With My Friends"
"Maybe Someday we, together, can be the king and queen of all I've Seen"
"I'm Sorry That I wrecked that tour for us, the drugs left me wigging out on the bus"
Reviewed by: Pete
Say Anything's Defense of The Genre
Released 2007
High Points:
Skinny Mean Man
Surgically Removing The Tracking Device
The Church Channel
Sorry Dude's My Bad
We Killed It
Hangover Song
I Used To Have a Heart
Plea
Low Points:
That is Why
Baby Girl I'm a Blur
Retarded in Love
Died a Jew
Skinny Mean Man
Surgically Removing The Tracking Device
The Church Channel
Sorry Dude's My Bad
We Killed It
Hangover Song
I Used To Have a Heart
Plea
Low Points:
That is Why
Baby Girl I'm a Blur
Retarded in Love
Died a Jew
No comments:
Post a Comment