tiny voices

All the way back in January I reviewed Say Hello to Sunshine and because that album kicks ass, I decided I should definitely listen to Finch's third full album. And so, a week or so ago, I finally did just that. I've dragged my feet on actually writing up my thoughts on 2014's Back to Oblivion, and though this is mainly because I've not written any Sound System posts for months and struggled against a lack of momentum, it also speaks somewhat to my lesser reaction to the album itself. Lesser in comparison to Finch's other releases, I mean. While my main takeaway from this album was similar to my initial impression of Say Hello to Sunshine-- that being, "this warrants further listening"-- it didn't take over my brain like the band's 2005 release did. After that review, I listened to those songs many, many more times, mapping their wavelengths to the weird little folds of my brain and soon bemoaning its obscurity in the online emo/pop punk/whatever community. After listening to Back to Oblivion, I had (have) the intention of digging deeper into the songs, but just haven't gotten around to it until today, prompted by sitting down and starting this post. I just wasn't grabbed as tightly this time around.

Now, if you're like me and you actually care to take note of the details of an album like its release date, you might wonder what was going on with Finch here considering this record came out in 2014, and its predecessor was all the way back in 2005. To make a long story short, the band weren't really getting along well enough to put out music for long stretches of time, and perhaps, the generally tepid response to their sophomore album exacerbated this problem. This persisted after Back to Oblivion was released as well, and to this day Finch has not put out a full album since, though they have shared some demos and previously unreleased recordings. All this to say, one wonders how nine years between record releases affects a band's performance. I'd say this question is especially pertinent for Finch, a group which experimented with and diverted their sound and vibe even just between albums one and two, which were only two years apart. The video that prompted me to finally listen to album three suggested that Back to Oblivion was a return to the band's style on What It Is To Burn... but I don't think I agree with that. I can hear the thread woven through the 2005 record in this one, and the lyrical approach is definitely more like Sunshine, though not as ill, or apocalyptic, or fascinating. There are clear distinctions and maturation as well, so really, if you go into this one expecting early 2000s-style pop punk hooks and "Letters to You" part two, you're getting swerved.

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Granted, my expectations for these songs were a step or two above the average level, so perhaps my feeling that this album just doesn't have as much capital-H Hype as the band's other work isn't truly accurate. That being said, what the album lacks in Hype, in hardcore, in energy, it makes up for in gentler, prettier musicality. There are moments and songs here that I would even describe as beautiful-- to name some tracks: "Murder Me," "Tarot", and the closer "New Wave." I think this softer exploration of their sound makes sense-- nine years had passed, all the guys in the band were older, and were less interested and/or less capable of going balls to the wall with fast tempos and blistering emotions. I can respect their choice to dial things back now and then because they can pull it off; it doesn't feel clumsy or inauthentic here. It might be unexpected, but it sounds like they know what they're doing. This depth, the range between heavy and soft helps make the album interesting and urges the listener to keep listening and get a better grasp on the songs.

Arguably, Back to Oblivion is a little lacking on hooks, or otherwise it could stand playing the hooks and cool riffs longer. I'd have appreciated a bit more indulgence in that area. I could see some people feeling the record is a bit all over the place, lacking cohesion. But I think it follows a certain flow from beginning to end: the title track starts out where one might expect, spends some time throwing around some hardcore energy, then gets a little more loose by mixing in the prettier stuff, and ultimately comes in for a soft landing. In that way the record is kind of a like a journey that ends in drifting off to sleep. I find it kind of sweet, actually. Finch isn't lighting the place on fire with this album, but you simply cannot hate it.

Some assorted notes and points of interest: Nate Barcalow is a great fucking singer. Listening to him is, once again, a joy. He still serves cunt now and then here. The album's bass tone is really nice and present, rather than a vague background element. There are several moments where the drums are front and center, essentially leading the mix, and this is only ever to the benefit of the songs and is not overused. There are not as many banger lyrics as in Say Hello to Sunshine but there are still a number of cool phrases and thinkers. "Play Dead" is a slowburn, wall of sound jam, and you should go listen to it. I get a kind of floating in space or staring and yearning at the stars vibe from the album in general, starting with the title track. The album's cover is really cool and would make a great poster. "Picasso Trigger" is a sick title; I don't know what "Inferium" means, or whether it refers to inferiority or inference. Even listening to the album only one complete time feels a little like getting a hug. Part of why I want to keep listening is to understand why that is.

Lyrics highlights for the word-lover in your life (AKA me):

Seven years of madness / four more for sting / separate the universe as I'm heading back to oblivion. - "Back to Oblivion"

This plague, a price upon my head / switch back, loosen up your thread / the underlining truth dissolving out of you. && Sterilize your view when you're further from the few. - "Further from the Few"

You murder me / so save heaven for what you really need. - "Murder Me"

As your colors reform / changing everything you know / stay your shape, move me / lines erase who we are. - "Picasso Trigger"

After the sun it's a love we have sold / time to transpose. && But at the core / I have become something greater than more. - "Play Dead"

A fragile hero makes a villain. - "Two Guns to the Temple"

Now you know the animal is inside us all / but you don't have to crawl. - "The Great Divide"

You say we're alien / it's cult emphatic / wrapped in static. - "Us Vs. Them"

You're sailing on / that's okay / I'll learn to swim someday. - "Tarot"

I could die tonight / so let's try tonight. - "New Wave"

R.I.P. Finch, you've made a home in the "obscure faves" part of my little black heart.

This was partly inspired by one of my friends' player character in my game, who is a bassist in a ska punk band. My friend provided me with a small playlist of songs as references for the sort of music the band plays (shout out to Pat, Pat's a real one for that) and one of the songs was "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake. Coincidentally, I had heard that song many times in the past, and it was the first Less Than Jake song I ever heard. Then the other day I was like, I should just listen to that whole album. So I did!

Hello Rockview is... it's aight.

Apologies if that's anti-climactic, but that's a succinct way of describing my reaction to this one, on first listen. It's fine, not bad. Less Than Jake seems to trace that line between ska and pop punk, which is not a genre (or combination of genres) I'm all that familiar with, despite my many years as an pop punk deep diver. Nothing wrong with ska; it's just never grabbed me. My default association with ska/punk is Operation Ivy, and I really like that band's music, but there's not actually much brass or woodwind action in their music, so it's a little distinct from Less Than Jake in that way, at least. My point is, my feelings about Hello Rockview are fairly moderate and I can't be too surprised about it.

After I listened through all the songs I took a stroll through the album's page on Wikipedia, mainly because I wondered if it was described as a concept album there. It wasn't, but I think my interpretation is that it is. Nearly all of the 14 tracks revolve around the concept of staying in the same old town with the same old people, not going anywhere, giving up, and struggling to reconcile one's ideals with this stagnation. The album is so married to these things that the lyrics are actually a little repetitive, provided you're like me and pay close attention to the lyrics on each song. The vocabulary is pretty limited; not a lot of evocative metaphors or imagery here. Not that I was really expecting it here, but I found myself a bit underwhelmed. A jaunty, upbeat album like this would've done well with some good quips, you know? The vocals here are good, carrying some solid personality for the music, but I felt that they were mainly just a vehicle for the words, if that makes sense. And the words were mainly a vehicle for the album's concepts, and you could say that about anything with words because that's the function of words, but I just would've appreciated a bit more poetry.

The instrumentation of the album keeps things fun, and the intros are especially great. There were several tracks where I started doing a tiny jig in my chair along to the beginning instrumental. We're talking 90s cartoon opening theme caliber, here. The bass on this album is excellent-- lots of really fun lines and the tone of the bass is perfect. Perhaps the best intro on the album is on the opening track "Last One Out of Liberty City" which is just a great example of how to start an album right. This album is also a great example of the philosophy of singing a sad song in a major key: a good alternate title for the album would be Sunshiney Bummers.

Now, I know I spent a couple hundred words up there talking about how the lyrics on this record aren't great, but I will highlight a few, because I like words, and I like offering a few points even to things I don't like much.

From "Help Save the Youth of America from Exploding," which is a great title by the by: Right now the world just seems too big.

From "Five State Drive": When goin' up's like goin' on and never goin' back now / it's just like giving up, yeah / and when goin' off's like goin' on it feels like going nowhere fast.

From "Big Crash": They've always had big plans for you / just to walk you through and cloud your views.

From "Theme Song for H Street": Remember when they said, just how long can your ideals keep you warm? / and we just laughed the kind of nervous laugh / we just sang along to that song that's on the radio.

From "Al's War": He feels that the last few years were only a waste of time / it was always a compromise of what he always felt inside / his declaration under the orange street lights.

I will also shout out the last few lines in "Al's War" that switch from like giving up to I'm not giving up at the last moment. After all the (upbeat) bummers that make up this record, I think it was a really smart choice to change the sentiment right at the end. Just one little second of determination; one brief moment of ambition. Better late than never, as they say.

Overall Hello Rockview is a simple and fun ride talking about growing up and not leaving your shitty hometown. It's jaunty and fast, has a lot of "whoa" in it, and it's a decent way to spend about 38 minutes. For me, it's nothing more and nothing less than that.

If I'm gonna keep up with these weekly album listens, I'm gonna need to not do them at the last moment on Sundays. Not beating myself up about it, because it's a self-imposed thing and it doesn't matter (shout out to mental health), but I dunno, it's weird because Sunday is like... technically part of the next week, right? Calendar-wise, I mean. Even though that flat out contradicts with it being part of the weekend. Whatever. Maybe this week I'll find a time to sit through an album and generate more than a handful of words, which is all I managed with this one. This one being haha by The Garden.

Granted, the limited amount of time between when I started the album and when I would've responsibly gone to bed for work the next day was not the only reason I didn't crank out a bunch of Thoughts on these songs. The other reason is that I just don't have a lot to say about them. First of all, out of 17 tracks, only two of them are longer than three minutes (and even those are barely longer than that). Not unusual to me, short songs, but on top of the short length of the songs is the either strange, lacking context aspect of the lyrics, or the repetitive and not particularly deep depths of the lyrics. Also, much of the time, the instrumentals are sparing, limited usually to a simple beat, bass and/or guitar, and some keyboardy, techno-y decorations. These are not bad, but they're not broad landscapes, so to speak. That being said, the bass does stand out on the album and has a thrumming twangy tone to it that's nice to chomp on. Crunch crunch.

My song-by-song Notepad file ended up pretty sparse, so I'll just summarize my thoughts broadly rather than going through each track individually. (click to read)

haha is kinda like the soundtrack to a gang of evil jesters born no earlier than 1998 doing crimes, or at the very least prowling and talking about doing crimes, and then celebrating. There are occasional shades of corporate, white fence, capitalist zombie-esque lyrics, and then there's the songs about clubbing. And I'm pretty sure they're referring to drugs, at least a few times for sure. Two tracks refer to something called "VV" and the latter track says "Vada Vada." Don't know what that is and I'm choosing to let it remain a mystery (after all, I am not an evil jester. I'm just evil). Sometimes the music reminds me of Crash Bash, a party game set in the Crash Bandicoot series, and sometimes the music reminds me of The Outsiders, specifically the movie version with the twangy guitar soundtrack. Strange things happening in this album. Like, if you were to imagine surf rock mixing with drums and bass mixing with post punk... you might imagine something like this album. Or maybe your brain wouldn't know what to even create with that set of components. It's not bad, and the songs are short so it's not a hard thing to sit and listen through, but yeah.

Highlights are "Crystal Clear," "Vexation," "haha," and "This Could Build Us a Home." "Red Green Yellow" is creative in that it's a song from the perspective of a traffic light. The two longest tracks, "Egg" and "Devour," feel the most conventional, and I thought "Everything Has a Face" is rather underwhelming. "We Be Grindin'" sounds like a meme, and I'm still trying to imagine the scene where it would be playing and getting the crowd pumped. I'd say it's satire of "up in the club" types of songs, but I would not put my money on it. Shoplift to "I'll Stop by Tomorrow Night." The title track is kinda like the evil version of the Wii Shop Channel music.

Lyrics I noted for being fun, catchy, or interesting in a way that had I been a dog I would have tilted my head curiously at:

"Take your sunglasses off and put them back on again / I've created a force field and I hope no one breaks it."

"Hip swing, hip swing, means nothing if you don't have thighs." [...] "Hiiiii!"

"You can't wish away what happened / you can't do so wrong / and live, care, live free."

"Lies are made by stories which we think of when we sleep."

"I wonder what's behind that cloak / whatever, oh well, whatever, oh well."

"I live by my knife, I'm so petty / like a ghost with flip flops, I'm not heavy."

"Don't dwell on it, fucker / don't dwell on it, fish."

Weird album. Fun and eerie, but I feel like I'm missing something.

IN OTHER NEWS -

I've officially survived the transition of going back to work after a vacation. Work opportunities were a bit dry this time last year so I'm glad to go back, despite the fact that it's, you know, work. My job is not bad, dare I say. I got color added to my tattoo last week. The tattoo artists were playing Lord of the Rings on their TV; my roommate (my ride) asked if "that guy from Critical Role" was playing Elrond. I thought she meant Matt Mercer, but she meant Liam O'Brien. Neither of these people played Elrond. I was a brave boy and cleared snow from our decks and driveway last week. Monday Night Raw debuted on Netflix and Rhea Ripley, god bless her, is champion again.

Perhaps most exciting: the first ever session of my game (eXtraOrdinary, XO for short) is scheduled for this coming Saturday! My plans are basically ready! Characters have been made and roleplayed! where doing it man. where MAKING THIS HAPEN