Blogging Ottinger (tim)Time Is Fiction - Edison Glass
Got the album today. I decided to do a quick first impression of each song. Note that even if I read the lyrics, I’m never entirely sure what these songs are about.
| Song | Impressions |
|---|---|
| Let Go | I had heard this along with the video so I already knew what to expect. Guitars and vocals are unmistakably Edison Glass. Good drums, good rhythm, good riffs. All good stuff. I hear Joe’s not drumming anymore with them. That’s a shame. I don’t know why. |
| Cold Condition | The opening wail is pretty unmistakable. This song has a hooky vocal line and a great spooky bridge. The guys are in such great voice. This has a message that’s a little more overtly Christian without being preachy, which I like in a good rock song. I love the idea of the “warmth to come”. The mix is dead on. Dantzler and Edison Glass have a good sense of levels and layers in music. I love the left/right split near the end< /td> |
| Without A Sound | Weird use of dissonance here. It is almost cool, almost annoying. You can tell this is one from the bass player. |
| The End of You | Cool cadence in this keeps Joe Morin moving. Again, the lyrics are pretty straight-forward and devotional in this one. The mood is a little softer, and a little more hypnotic. There’s a touch of late 60s psychodelia and early 80s invasion feel in this. The guys combine so many influences, without sounding worn-in. Warning to my friend Alicia: they have whoa-oh lyrics here. You have been warned. |
| All Our Memories | The song starts with a surf-a-billy meets Cheap Trick sound. I like that rather a lot. It’s a pretty straight-laced chorus, but each time through gives a new variation on the theme instrumentally and with regards to vocal effects mix. The first time through the vocalist sounds like a synth patch, later it is less punch and backed with nylong-stringed guitar. Starting with the second verse, there’s some serious funkiness going on in the lyrical cadence and in the crazy sound mix. Pretty trippy stuff. By the end the weird chorus had totally grown on me. |
| Chances | This one begins very natural and simple, clean electric guitars & drums and a fat bass. It has rather the wistful feel. This is the only song I could imagine being sung by Kermit the Frog. I don’t know that I won’t be hooked on it later, but on first listening it didn’t sound like the strongest entry on the album. Mind you, it’s a strong album, and that’s not an offense. In live performace, this song will be a welcome change-up. They play this one pretty straight, throwing in a little keyboard and tremolo, but keeping it clean. |
| See Me Through | Cool bass line. Nice use of keyboards. I think I recognized a tip of the hat to Deliriou5?, another favorite band of mine. I hadn’t noticed the similarity until I saw the lyric “my glorious”. A very nice take on the hide-and-seek game that is the Christian experience. Semi-overt, but not enough that non-Christians would hate the song. More excellent production. |
| The Jig Is Up | I found myself thinking about the Police (Sting & company) and some early Rush. |
| Our Bodies Sing | Pretty straightforward pop for EG. I was definitely caught on the hook halfway through. I think I’m going to have this stuck in my head for a while. Good thing I bought the CD and not just the tracks, I’m going to need the lyric sheet. |
| Children in the Streets | This is EG’s “we are the world.” I don’t say that to discredit the song or the band or the cause, it just seems to be so. It doesn’t take away from the great instrumentals and smooth vocals. I did notice what seemed to be a little snippet of “Forever” from their first album returning in the guitar line. I doubt that this will be the crossover hit. It’s a more overt charity plea. |
| Jean Valjean | Les Mis’ lyrics and chime-y guitar tones with message and cello. Interesting, different. I suppose if I had read or watched Les Miserables I would be more moved by the poetry herein, but alas I am the outsider here. Lyrics are interesting nonetheless: “It’s a battle between just and good/what you know is right, what you know you should.” and the poignant “will good overcome religion?” |
| Time Is Fiction | This must be the “fingerpicking album”, or at least the fingerpicking section of this album. I notice that the lyric sheet is not complete with regards to this song. As the song began it was haunting, but rose through a crescendo to a short scream, and a rhythmic section, never really erupting into an album-ending jam. Still nice, but I was really expecting the last half of the album, after the mellow stuff, they would break into some kind of rouser. This song is more of a devotional piece, and very sweet at that. |
I am not unhappy with the album by any measure, and I’m happy to have these songs in my collection. The album is easily worth the price and the anticipation. Edison Glass has such a wonderful way with layering rhythm, instruments, and voices and their arrangements and instrumentals are always excellent. I hope that this album does very well, indeed. While I was a little disappointed with the way the second half trailed off to softer and softer songs, there are plenty of high points in the 12-song project. I think that the album will provide me with a lot of enjoyment in “random shuffle” mode as well.
I will likely return to this post with more thoughts as the album has time to settle in, and especially as it merges into the regular rotation. It’s a very good sophomore project. My recommendation is “buy”.
