Scott Irvine
08/20/07, 11:29 AM
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
Released June 19th, 2007
TVT Records
Bright! And shiiinneeyy. Bright! And shiiinneeyy.
Quoting "The Bubble Boy" for no apparent reason in a review of a band that reminded me of a bus full of overly-positive cultists from the latter movie may be the lowest I've gone to grab the reader's attention, but the sing-song line above has its applications with The Polyphonic Spree. Folding 24 instrumentalists and vocalists into a single band has been done before. However, show me another self-proclaimed indie band that boasts as large of a roster and I'll show you a free blowjob. Their newest release, The Fragile Army, toys with some "darker" elements but it’s really just the same ol’ Spree.
This is the first album I’ve reviewed since moving into my dorms and, honestly, it’s not the most masculine album you could be listening to, but its just too good of an album to let externalities (dude bros, beer, toga parties) get in the way. However keep the showtune-ish “Section 28 [Guaranteed Nightlife]” on the down-low or else you may be completely written off as a closet case. The Fragile Army is a smooth listen regardless. “Section 21 [Together We’re Heavy]”, although a short and uneventful introduction, segues easily into the triumphant, spring-day soundtrack “Section 22 [Running Away]”. And although the band is known for their whimsical, mid-60’s callbacks, and a plethora of instruments all vying for the most springy of inclusion – they do delve into aforementioned “darker” elements. This shade is found most notably in “Section 29 [Light to Follow]” where back-alley static sets the song up for a predictable, airy bassline to fill the gap between Tim DeLaughter’s pondering verses (“Love/In a mixed up time/Its hard to know/Which way to go”) and alternating groups of female choirs. Things even get a little Elton John ballad-ish in “Section 31 [Overblow Your Nest]”. So on your first rotation of A Fragile Army, you really never know whether the band is going to lift your spirits or get you lost in eerily sparse instrumentation for such a large band.
This is probably the easiest listen I’ve been through in one sitting. Each song is so efficiently, maybe involuntarily, connected to the next. My first encounter with The Polyphonic Spree was weirdly during an episode of Scrubs (you know which one I’m talking about) and now that I’m listening to a physical copy of what such a large and incredibly uniform collective can create, I know this will not be my last time I stumble upon listening to them. Hell, I’m ending this review after just putting it back in the stereo.
Released June 19th, 2007
TVT Records
Bright! And shiiinneeyy. Bright! And shiiinneeyy.
Quoting "The Bubble Boy" for no apparent reason in a review of a band that reminded me of a bus full of overly-positive cultists from the latter movie may be the lowest I've gone to grab the reader's attention, but the sing-song line above has its applications with The Polyphonic Spree. Folding 24 instrumentalists and vocalists into a single band has been done before. However, show me another self-proclaimed indie band that boasts as large of a roster and I'll show you a free blowjob. Their newest release, The Fragile Army, toys with some "darker" elements but it’s really just the same ol’ Spree.
This is the first album I’ve reviewed since moving into my dorms and, honestly, it’s not the most masculine album you could be listening to, but its just too good of an album to let externalities (dude bros, beer, toga parties) get in the way. However keep the showtune-ish “Section 28 [Guaranteed Nightlife]” on the down-low or else you may be completely written off as a closet case. The Fragile Army is a smooth listen regardless. “Section 21 [Together We’re Heavy]”, although a short and uneventful introduction, segues easily into the triumphant, spring-day soundtrack “Section 22 [Running Away]”. And although the band is known for their whimsical, mid-60’s callbacks, and a plethora of instruments all vying for the most springy of inclusion – they do delve into aforementioned “darker” elements. This shade is found most notably in “Section 29 [Light to Follow]” where back-alley static sets the song up for a predictable, airy bassline to fill the gap between Tim DeLaughter’s pondering verses (“Love/In a mixed up time/Its hard to know/Which way to go”) and alternating groups of female choirs. Things even get a little Elton John ballad-ish in “Section 31 [Overblow Your Nest]”. So on your first rotation of A Fragile Army, you really never know whether the band is going to lift your spirits or get you lost in eerily sparse instrumentation for such a large band.
This is probably the easiest listen I’ve been through in one sitting. Each song is so efficiently, maybe involuntarily, connected to the next. My first encounter with The Polyphonic Spree was weirdly during an episode of Scrubs (you know which one I’m talking about) and now that I’m listening to a physical copy of what such a large and incredibly uniform collective can create, I know this will not be my last time I stumble upon listening to them. Hell, I’m ending this review after just putting it back in the stereo.