Aereogramme refine their sound, but slip into the realms of standard artsy rock.
Aereogramme have always danced somewhat successfully around the line between making good music and making pretentious whining soaked in melodrama. While some of their songs could act as proof that recording studios come with a “meaningful atmosphere” switch that the band just idly leaves on, and Craig B’s castrato vocals and Nine Inch Nails-worthy lyrics can sometimes grate on your nerves, the band’s songwriting talent and unpredictable incorporation of a variety of styles easily makes up for it. Their first two albums were an endearing collage of various styles that could resemble anything from Radiohead to Isis. This is probably best represented by the opener of Sleep and Release, “Indiscretion Number 243”, which jumps from a heavy bass intro into a riff that sounds like it was created to launch a stadium sized crowd into a frenzy, then after the second verse jumps into tribal drumming, a synth lead and… a “praise the lord” gospel choir? This is the sort of music Aereogramme dealt in and I just couldn’t say no.
Then came their Seclusion EP and the awkward transitions between styles disappeared. Instead, Aereogramme created 30 minutes of bliss - dark, threatening, beautiful, cathartic, and it still had room to comfort your soul by rocking out with a Flaming Lips cover. If it were a movie it would be one of those academy award winners where the lead character explores many different moods and emotions before ultimately climaxing with a violent death. I liked it. I wanted more. The idea of a full album of that sort of thing made me very excited. Unfortunately if My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go were a movie, it would be a sappy romance that afterwards leaves you wondering if you should cry or vomit.
Things start off on a sour note with “Concious Life For Coma Boy”, whose cutesy little string section during the chorus creates the urge to punch someone in the throat. The rest of the album ebbs and flows between songs that are jammed full of an “epic melancholy” feeling similar to that trafficked in by the likes of Porcupine Tree or Dredg. Disappointingly, the orgies of metallic guitars, hoarse screams and other ‘quirks’ that separated Aereogramme from other art rockers are entirely absent on My Heart Has A Wish You Would Not Go. The film scoring influence is even stronger and more noticeable as each song is soaked in dense layering and atmospherics, something Aereogramme are getting very good at-- although sometimes when Craig B’s lyrics are a little too juvenile the music can seem pretentious and over the top, causing the song to turn sour and implode on itself. It’s an album that needs to be taken with a grain of salt, much of its cheesiness goes too far (an example being “Finding A Light” which climaxes with a desperate cry of “I don’t know how to live!” followed by a delicately spoken “…without you…” during its finishing notes), but that also has its glories if you can see past the flaws.
Aereogramme have streamlined their sound and made themselves more effective songwriters, but at what cost? While they are unquestionably becoming more talented, they have parted with the unpredictable variety that made them unique.
| Reviewer: Jeff Mcquiggan Added: February 8th 2007 |
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