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Proximity Effect (MarDev, 1998 - Elektra, 2000) has little to commend
itself. Hyperspace tries to emulate their 1996 hit, but it is the dreamy
ballad 80 Windows that steals the show.
The rest is as uninspired as rock can be.
The band literally reinvented themselves on
Let Go (Labels, 2002 - Barsuk, 2003), their most inspired album yet,
overflowing with gently melodic gems
while exuding anger and frustration.
Somehow, their melodic skills were emphasized by a humbler, more sincere
context, and the variety of formats stretched from ballad to rock'n'roll
in a way that they had never dreamed of before.
With gentle ballads such as Blizzard of '77, Inside of Love and
Neither Heaven Nor Space they de facto pioneered a sort of
"Seventies revival", a sound that harked back to the mellowest moments of the
Alan Parsons Project and the
Electric Light Orchestra.
At the same time they continued to revise
Tom Petty's slick driving folk-rock
(Happy Kid, Treading Water)
that, with a bit more of emphasis and rhythm, allowed them to coin
a poppy version of the Velvet Underground
(The Way You Wear Your Head, the album's standout).
While the album had no ambition to reinvent rock music,
the skipping beats and hard riffs of Hi-Speed Soul
and the seven-minute mutation of Paper Boats from catatonic to soaring
showed craftmanship above the average.
The Weight Is A Gift (Barsuk, 2005 - Sonic Boom, 2006) was louder and
faster but, generally speaking, continued the orgy
of self-analysis and of flamboyant melodic revival.
This time the band's preference went clearly towards the bittersweet ballad,
but the way they packaged it was so tasty and poignant that the parade was
never monotonous:
the comatose Comes A Time,
Do It Again,
What Is Your Secret,
employ an arsenal of little tricks to keep Matthew Caws' lyrics alive and kicking.
The vocal and instrumental arrangements of Your Legs Grow even border
on dream-pop.
Furthermore, the stereotype of the pop ballad is violated by
the frenzied tempo of Concrete Bed,
the burning guitar of Always Love,
the collective pounding of In The Mirror,
the punkish energy of Imaginary Friends,
and especially by the infectious beat of Blankest Year.
The songs on Lucky (Barsuk, 2008) were less immediate than the ones
The Weight Is A Gift, but the procedure was very similar.
Whose Authority, Beautiful Beat, See These Bones and I Like What You Say
displayed the same confidence in building and sustaining pop magic, while
Weightless and The Fox veered towards brooding atmospheres.
None (except maybe Ice On The Wing) has the verve of the best
Sixties revival.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Massimo Mascia)
In Proximity Effect (MarDev, 1998
- Elektra, 2000) c'è poco di cui vantarsi. Hyperspace
tenta di bissare il loro hit del '96, ma a rubare la scena è la ballata trasognata 80
Windows. Il resto è tanto povero di idee quanto sa esserlo il rock.
La band si reinventò letteralmente con Let
Go (Labels, 2002 - Barsuk, 2003), ad oggi il loro album più
ispirato, traboccante di delicate gemme melodiche come Blizzard
of '77 e Treading Water, ma anche
trasudante una vena di rabbia e frustrazione. In qualche modo, le loro
abilità melodiche risultano enfatizzate dal contesto più modesto e sincero, e
la varietà dei formati canzone spazia dalla ballata al rock'n'roll in
una maniera che non si erano mai sognati.
The Weight Is A Gift (Barsuk,
2005 - Sonic Boom, 2006) è più leggero e un pizzico troppo indulgente,
ma in linea di massima porta avanti l'orgia di auto-analisi e di
revival melodico
flamboyant. Questa volta le preferenze della band vanno chiaramente in
direzione della ballata agrodolce, ma il modo in cui la infiocchettano
è talmente creativo e toccante che la sfilata di canzoni non è
mai monotona: Comes in Time, Do It Again,
What Is Your Secret e Always
Love sfoderano un arsenale di trucchi da repertorio per mantenere i testi di Matthew Caws freschi e vitali.
Le canzoni di Lucky (Barsuk,
2008) sono meno immediate rispetto a
The Weight Is A Gift, ma la procedura
compositiva è assai simile.
Whose Authority, Beautiful
Beat, See These Bones and I
Like What You Say rivelano la medesima sicurezza nella costruzione e nel sostenimento della magia pop, mentre Weightless
e The Fox sterzano verso atmosfere introspettive.
Ma nessuna, eccezion fatta forse per Ice On The Wing,
ha la verve del miglior revival anni '60.
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