Also in this Issue
- Hill Peaks After a few low-profile decades, pianist Andrew Hill is resurgent--and restless (Music)
- American Idol 'Rolling Thunder Revue' examines the mystique of Bob Dylan (Music)
- MC Paul Barman: Paullelujah! (CD Review)
- Fennesz: Field Recordings 1995:2002 (CD Review)
- Various Artists: Total 4, Ellen Allien: Weiss.Mix (CD Review)
- Carei Thomas Feel Free Ensemble: Mining Our Bid'ness (CD Review)
- Jason Moran: Modernistic (CD Review)
- Missy Elliott: Under Construction (CD Review)
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More CD Review Articles
- Various Artists: Chilly Northern Women (Nov 13, 2002)
- Lateduster: Lateduster, and Five Easy Pieces (Nov 6, 2002)
- Franklin Bruno: A Cat May Look At A Queen , Jenny Toomey: Tempting: Jenny Toomey Sings the Songs (Oct 23, 2002)
- Eyes Adrift: Eyes Adrift (Oct 23, 2002)
- Various Artists: Boom Selection_Issue 01 (Oct 23, 2002)
- Liars: They Threw Us All in a Trench (Oct 23, 2002)
- Amon Tobin: Out from Out Where (Oct 16, 2002)
- Thievery Corporation: The Richest Man in Babylon (Oct 16, 2002)
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The Beatifics: The Way We Never Were
The Way We Never Were
The Bus Stop Label
Maybe the timing is right. Urban warfare in the streets of Baghdad appears imminent. Our "economic recovery" continues to crumble. And projections on how quickly a smallpox outbreak would spread are no longer just the fodder of sci-fi novels. What we need is a diversion, a respite from all the CNN-hyped doom and gloom. And the Beatifics' latest release, The Way We Never Were, is the perfect anti-stimulant for the current cultural climate--easy to listen to, easy to remember, and easy to forget. In a more stable socio-political environment, you might call it bland. But for now, we'll just label it accessible.
The Way We Never Were is that sort of shimmering light alternapop that is best suited to a slow Sunday afternoon drive: It makes no demands on you and offers little in return. The album is the first full-length release by Chris Dorn and friends since 1996's How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and the passage of six years hasn't appeared to generate any kernels of accumulated wisdom or expanded musical vocabulary. The opening track, "Sorry Yesterdays," sets the pace with its insistent vocal refrain, bright, slowly strummed guitars, and heavy backbeats that keep your head bobbing along. From there, the next nine songs lope along lazily with little evolution in intensity or theme. But Dorn's vocals--the focal point of this release--still manage to catch your attention.
On "The Only One," he croons "You'll always be the bitter thing that I could never play for keeps/Exactly like the kind of dream that never lets you back asleep," his voice floating softly above the straightforward song structure. The cathartic effect of The Way We Never Were may be fleeting, but for a brief moment, it can help you forget about the world that lies outside the song.
About Michael L. Walsh
From the Archive
- Grand Folk Railroad Alt-country quintet Jack Gandydancer are headed down the right track (Music - Oct 16, 2002)
- Crossing Their Fingers Are the Crush the next big pop-punk band? (Music - Oct 2, 2002)
- The Rakes' Progress A local band doesn't need debauchery to be rock 'n' roll (Music - Sep 4, 2002)
- More articles from the Michael L. Walsh Archive...
