topher465
07/09/08, 06:54 PM
The New Frontiers - Mending
Record Label: The Militia Group
Release Date: April 29, 2008
I think everyone gets to a point on their lives where they reach musical exhaustion, and as an avid reviewer who is starting to view the criticism of albums as a job as opposed to an enjoyable listening experience, I take the advice of Major Sidney Freedman, guest-starring psychologist of M*A*S*H: “Pull your pants down, and slide on the ice.”
So I slide, and it’s darn cold.
The clarity I receive from this make-believe freezing of my behind is simply symbolic of my clear-headed preparations of my review of The New Frontiers’ latest, Mending. Coming from a mental backsliding to a recent college kid returning home to vacuuming and grass-cutting, the album left me juxtaposed between brilliance and ennui.
If you’re into brevity, you can stop after this next sentence. Mending, although it has its share of high points, left me focused on one ankle-biting aspect: diversity. Often, the downfall of full-lengths lies in this looming thunderstorm of a detail. However, the first four songs of Mending float with the ease of The Eagles mixed with the sunny brightness of Augustana.
"Black Lungs" slides with effortless, darker verses before slipping into a luminous chorus where the listener finds first the longing in vocalist Nathan Pettijohn's voice. But its an honest longing, through the clarity of the alternative-country "The Day You Fell Apart," and the easy-listening of "Man Down," to the worshipful spirit of "Mirrors," resplendent with soft gang vocals ushered in with grace; by far, the best song on the album. But the band takes its first misstep with "Strangers," lacking the substance of the rustic indie-pop upheld through the album's inception. "This Is My Home" and "Spirit & Skin" both fall in the realm of boredom, but with the sailing of the beauty of the delicate instrumentals of "Walking On Stones," I'm roped back in.
The album closes with "Who Will Give Us Love?" an introspective lament, bursting with sincerity and spirit. But the spirituality isn't spouted from a mount or plateau, but instead spoken from the valley, clad in sandals and canvas, declaring "if we learn to pray like Jesus, there is love," just as the Son of Man did himself in the dust of the mid-east.
As a whole, Mending is far above par, but the drawling of the album may leave the listener slipping into ennui. However, those songs which don't grab attention sit among a sky of north stars, their light drowned out by the brilliance of the first four songs, again, falling victim to the peril of diversity in chance of the full-length album.
Death Cab for Cutie, Aqualung, Alive in Wild Paint
myspace.com/thenewfrontiers (http://www.myspace.com/thenewfrontiers)
Record Label: The Militia Group
Release Date: April 29, 2008
I think everyone gets to a point on their lives where they reach musical exhaustion, and as an avid reviewer who is starting to view the criticism of albums as a job as opposed to an enjoyable listening experience, I take the advice of Major Sidney Freedman, guest-starring psychologist of M*A*S*H: “Pull your pants down, and slide on the ice.”
So I slide, and it’s darn cold.
The clarity I receive from this make-believe freezing of my behind is simply symbolic of my clear-headed preparations of my review of The New Frontiers’ latest, Mending. Coming from a mental backsliding to a recent college kid returning home to vacuuming and grass-cutting, the album left me juxtaposed between brilliance and ennui.
If you’re into brevity, you can stop after this next sentence. Mending, although it has its share of high points, left me focused on one ankle-biting aspect: diversity. Often, the downfall of full-lengths lies in this looming thunderstorm of a detail. However, the first four songs of Mending float with the ease of The Eagles mixed with the sunny brightness of Augustana.
"Black Lungs" slides with effortless, darker verses before slipping into a luminous chorus where the listener finds first the longing in vocalist Nathan Pettijohn's voice. But its an honest longing, through the clarity of the alternative-country "The Day You Fell Apart," and the easy-listening of "Man Down," to the worshipful spirit of "Mirrors," resplendent with soft gang vocals ushered in with grace; by far, the best song on the album. But the band takes its first misstep with "Strangers," lacking the substance of the rustic indie-pop upheld through the album's inception. "This Is My Home" and "Spirit & Skin" both fall in the realm of boredom, but with the sailing of the beauty of the delicate instrumentals of "Walking On Stones," I'm roped back in.
The album closes with "Who Will Give Us Love?" an introspective lament, bursting with sincerity and spirit. But the spirituality isn't spouted from a mount or plateau, but instead spoken from the valley, clad in sandals and canvas, declaring "if we learn to pray like Jesus, there is love," just as the Son of Man did himself in the dust of the mid-east.
As a whole, Mending is far above par, but the drawling of the album may leave the listener slipping into ennui. However, those songs which don't grab attention sit among a sky of north stars, their light drowned out by the brilliance of the first four songs, again, falling victim to the peril of diversity in chance of the full-length album.
Death Cab for Cutie, Aqualung, Alive in Wild Paint
myspace.com/thenewfrontiers (http://www.myspace.com/thenewfrontiers)