Evening, all.
After yesterday's rantings about grilling and weather which resulted in a truncated post, I thought I'd go down the same route and just talk about a single song that's fantastic instead of having to cover an entire album. Additionally, look for another post later tonight as penance for shorter updates. Anyway, let's move on!
I wrote about Silverchair and their great album Neon Ballroom a few weeks back. After that album was released there was a bit of a hiatus for the band, and a few years passed with out a proper release. When the band went back to the studio to record the follow up, Diorama, they were older and wiser. For the first time in his career, Daniel Johns really seemed to be stretching his wings and flexing his song-writing muscles. It sounded, frankly, like he had grown up. The album that we got, as listeners, was a mixed bag - some heavy and in line with previous motifs (One Way Mule, The Lever) while others broke absolutely strange new ground (Tuna In The Brine, Across The Night). Splitting the difference for these disparate groups was a particular song that I feel really defines the band and stands as some of their best work. The song I'm referring to is the sweeping, dramatic 'Without You', the second single off the album. Ironically song is said to be a hold-over from Neon Ballroom, only reworked and expanded for Diorama after Johns decided to take more risks in his writing process.
The song is a work in almost diametrically opposed concepts, embodying both the heaviness of the group's youthful work while displaying a new sense of of melody and song structure. This newfound direction allowed the band to express more nuanced ideas while still wielding them with the weight and power of a rock group. At times on Diorama you can get a feeling that Johns had been struggling with identity and expectations, and with this album he afforded himself the opportunity to take some risks and venture, ever so slightly, out of his comfort zone. 'Without You' would be the best example of that fresh expression on the album. Played in a drop-Db tuning, the song is a momentous, heaving affair in a waltz time signature that propels itself forward with the rolling drums that evoke feelings of a symphony, only scaled back to fit the three piece band. Making great strides as a writer using major key melodies (what a novelty, right?) Johns sounds more upbeat, even if singing the anguished lines "Miles away there's hopeless smiles better than mine, and I need for you to come and go without the truth falling out." The pre-chorus shimmers with clean guitar lines, the distortion momentarily dropping out as the tension builds. When the chorus does finally hit, its a satisfying affair, all major chords and I-IV-V chord progressions. Johns' voice has grown nicely and he's able to hold higher and more varied melodies while still maintaining the rasp he used in his earlier work. The song is full of little touches that make it fantastic, like the burning hum of a sliding, electric guitar lick and acoustic flair added in towards the back half of the song.
'Without You' is a fantastic piece of power-pop. I love the song and how it has such a great sense of weight and momentum behind it, giving heft to the light touches that serve as it's structure. That's kind of the key to the piece as a whole - there's a low skeleton that supports a fragile framework and the two compliment each other very well. It really stands out as my favorite track on an album showcasing Johns' growth and risky moves. This would be their last official release for almost five years, but the band would return with vigor, offering the further endeavors in envelope-pushing that is Young Modern. I'm sure in the future I'll get a chance to do a proper write-up on Young Modern, but in the mean time give a listen to this amazing song. Hopefully you'll find it as rewarding as I do.
After yesterday's rantings about grilling and weather which resulted in a truncated post, I thought I'd go down the same route and just talk about a single song that's fantastic instead of having to cover an entire album. Additionally, look for another post later tonight as penance for shorter updates. Anyway, let's move on!
I wrote about Silverchair and their great album Neon Ballroom a few weeks back. After that album was released there was a bit of a hiatus for the band, and a few years passed with out a proper release. When the band went back to the studio to record the follow up, Diorama, they were older and wiser. For the first time in his career, Daniel Johns really seemed to be stretching his wings and flexing his song-writing muscles. It sounded, frankly, like he had grown up. The album that we got, as listeners, was a mixed bag - some heavy and in line with previous motifs (One Way Mule, The Lever) while others broke absolutely strange new ground (Tuna In The Brine, Across The Night). Splitting the difference for these disparate groups was a particular song that I feel really defines the band and stands as some of their best work. The song I'm referring to is the sweeping, dramatic 'Without You', the second single off the album. Ironically song is said to be a hold-over from Neon Ballroom, only reworked and expanded for Diorama after Johns decided to take more risks in his writing process.
