Released - 6/3/11
Label - Warner Bros. Records
BLURB - Well, I've been waiting for this one for a while now. Probably about a year or so. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. came out of nowhere (literally) over the past year, turning into 'must-see' acts at both SXSW and CMJ. Lucky for me, I was able to catch them twice and loved each show. Fast forward to about a year later, the band is signed to Warner Brothers and their first full-length album is finally released. There's actually been quite a few poor reviews for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. -- this is not one of them.
Rating - 9 out of 10
FULL STORY - Perhaps the best part of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is their light-hearted nature and general quirkiness. I guess you kind of pigeon-hole yourself in to that territory by naming your band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. in the first place. This is a band that dresses up in full NASCAR outfits when they perform live. This is a band that plays each of their shows with a giant american flag and flashing JR lights. This is a band that that is two people playing guitars over a synthesizer and drum loops.
So many have written them off by saying things like the duo hasn't musically matured to meet their hype. "It's a Corporate World" is terribly underproduced and unorganized is another common critique. My argument to that is, you knew what you were getting with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Forunately, for those that have been to their shows and fell in love with their inane fusion of 60's pop, folk and electronica - this is exactly what we thought it would be. I love the fact that the record isn't as tight as it should be. I love that sometimes there's a thousand things going on.
Lead single, 'Nothing But Our Love' is second on the album and sounds exactly as it does live. A slow and patient ballad that blends arpeggiated synths over finger picked guitars and a clap drum. Sweet. The slowness of the track can be something of a detriment, but the song recovers with heavy bridge of deep synth bass lines and a powerful outro that builds in intensity.
'An Ugly Person On the Movie Screen' once again has low production values and features muffled vocals, which oddly give the track an old-timey feel. Standing out on this track, however, is great bed of vocal harmonies that screams 60's pop. Playing against these melodies are collections of weird noises and sound effects -- which I kind of like, and I'm not sure why. You'll be listening to this track with your feet up on the desk and all of a sudden hear what sounds like a spaceship go flying by. I'm sure this irritates everyone else, but again, it's something that Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. would do.
'Simple Girl' is perhaps the folksiest track on the record. Consisting of mainly acoustic guitars and xylophones, there is a bright and airy feel to the track. It's the song you would imagine birds chirping along with. The duo combines standard pop progressions with collections of vocal harmonies and whistles that would suggest this song was recorded in any year but 2011. The lyrics are also very earnest, simple and somewhat endearing:
"She's a simple girl, she's governed by simple pleasures. She won't ever let you meet her family but she'll show you pictures. She's a simple girl and she's got simple emotions. She won't ever let you in, but she wants to keep you in her corner."
'Vocal Chords' sounds like something off of an old Beach Boys album, but with a modern twist of electronica -- if that makes any sense. Once again, the group shows off their inclination to write pop inspired tracks that are filled with vocal harmonies and color. This isn't really much of a surprise though, I mean after all one of the reasons Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. broke into the mainstream was because of their interpretive cover of the Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows.'
The most powerful track comes courtesy of 'We Almost Lost Detroit,' a cover of Gil Scott Heron's famous recording. Here the pace and energy are dramatically increased, as opposed to the majority of the album. Distorted guitars and dark riffs illuminate this cover as keyboards and synths are also pumped in. There is a great anthemic feel to the track that just seems to pump you up every time you listen to it.
So, sure, some of "It's a Corporate World" is a little bit out there and weird. It's perhaps something you wouldn't necessarily anticipate hearing from a Warner recording artist -- but it's true to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s feel. And at it's core, "It's a Corporate World" is an entirely unique blend of old and new. At any point you could be listening to a song and say -- hey this sounds like a Beach Boys song, only to say -- hey this sounds like a Neon Indian song in the next verse. It's creative, it's fun -- it's simply a clever take on pop music in 2011. If nothing else, it's certainly worth a listen -- I don't think you'll regret it.
Take a listen to 'Simple Girl.'
Tracks
1.) Morning Thought
2.) Nothing But Our Love
3.) Skeletons
4.) An Ugly Person On a Movie Screen
5.) When I Open My Eyes
6.) Husbands (Interlude)
7.) It's a Corporate World
8.) Simple Girl
9.) If It Wasn't You...
10.) Vocal Chords
11.) We Almost Lost Detroit
12.) The Fisherman
No comments:
Post a Comment