145. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (2004)

 

This is by far the most extreme example of the (for a time) popular "progressive pop" style, in which pop melodies are placed one after another in endless profusion so we get 8 minute-plus tracks in which melodies last for about a minute, to be replaced by another. Destroyer's Destroyer's Rubies was an example of this, but this is even more out-there, with 5 tracks over 8 minutes, singing in Inuit, four-minute Steve Reich-y minimalist patterns and lengthy, surrealistic children's stories. It's too complex for its own good; to get anything out of this record requires about four or five careful listens (i.e. no distractions) and even then you'll realize that what you get out of it isn't all that great. There are catchy moments, yes, but they don't develop or lead into or out of anything and the endless childishness of the lyrics gets annoying after a while. Also, lead vocalist Eleanor Friedberger has a snobbish-sounding, schoolmarm-y voice that is totally inappropriate for this kind of music. It needed a Joanna Newsom, someone who isn't afraid to embrace her inner child when singing. But even then, would this have worked? There comes a point when the sheer amount of mental work required to understand a composition works against its quality--or, the quality revealed is incommensurate with the work you had to put in to discover it. It ain't about how good a musician or arranger you are--this is why the Ramones are a better band than say, Dream Theater. Plus there is no sense of atmosphere or any attempt at soundscaping on this record--at least when the Decemberists write their stupid songs about pirate ships they make you feel like you're on a pirate ship through the production and instrumental choices. It's all just one annoying pop bit after another, and it could have easily been 30 short tracks as opposed to 13 long ones. I want to say that despite all this, the album is still impressive in its scope and ambition, but even saying that rings false to me. It just goes to show that excellence in art more often happens when one takes a single thing and works it to perfection, rather than taking a million things and throwing them against the wall.

MY RATING: 4.3

The Fiery Furnaces - "Mason City"

158. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (2006)

Destroyer is the vehicle of Dan Bejar, he of the bizarre, affected voice and cryptic lyrics, perhaps better known as the guy who writes the three less good songs on every New Pornographers album. Those songs are certainly nothing like what appears on this record, a dense, confusing work--the album it most evokes for me is the Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat, and while it is neither as poppy or as complex as that one it shares the ambition to create multipart, 6+ minute pop songs. The pop song format is not naturally conducive to extended track lengths, and so what both of these bands did was either stick several songs together in one or go the Hey Jude route and turn it into a campfire singalong. The problem here is while the melodies themselves are attractive and inviting they get lost in the overambitious arrangements and the whole thing starts to feel a bit clinical and cold. Bejar also has the annoying tendency to start scatting in every single song, pumping out "la la la"s and "na na na"s so often you want to reach into your computer and strangle him. He uses this technique so often it seems to be a function of writer's block--that he's just tossing in na-na-nas every single time he can't think of anything else to say. So this is less a case of an album being bad than being unstrung by its ambition--while it's certainly preferable to something boring and safe, it doesn't really work, and I can't imagine anyone really listening to this kind of thing for pleasure. Impressive and cold.

MY RATING: 6.3

Destroyer - "Looters' Follies"